Don't Mess With A Namikaze
by KaeterinaRomanov
Summary: Kagome gets sent to the Naruto universe and ends up becoming Minato's little sister. Watch Kagome's journey growing up becoming a powerful kunoichi. When tragedy strikes and Kagome becomes the guardian of her nephew, her life takes a new turn. Konoha learns the hard way, do not mess with a Namikaze
1. Chapter 1

Relief flooded through Kagome as she sunk to the ground. She looked to the sky to see that the dark clouds that had summoned during the fight, finally started parting, showing the sun once again. Somewhat hysterical laughter broke out of her, they won. She couldn't believe it, they actually won. She glanced around the bloody and destroyed battlefield. Sango was clinging to Kohaku who was hugging her back just as desperately. With Naraku's death, his control over the boy was gone. Miroku hovered protectively behind the two crying siblings, giving them time to safely reunite. Shippo and Kirara were curled together near Miroku's feet, both completely exhausted. Koga and his wolves were collapsed in exhaustion a few meters away, wild smiles on their faces. Sesshomaru and his crew were at the edge of the field, getting ready to head out already. He had done what he came to do and now that he was finished, he could leave. Kikyo, looking slightly worse for wear, had also sat down to rest. They had become friends and allies half a year back, the two had become more like sisters recently. The bit of soul she had stolen from Kagome those few years back had blossomed into her own soul. Kikyo was once again alive, and her own person.

Kagome heard someone plop down behind her and she glanced back at Inuyasha as he laid down next to her. The rash lovable idiot had injuries all over but given some time to rest and heal he would be fine. Kagome wasn't without injury herself. One of Naraku's tentacles had gotten in a pretty good shot and she was sporting a pretty good gash going down her back. It started at her right shoulder and ended near her left hip; she had been trying to dive out of the way. Obviously, she had been a bit slow. Now that she was consciously thinking about it the pain flared and she realized she would have to get that wrapped up and healed as soon as possible if she didn't want to bleed out. That would be the worst way to go. Finally, win against the enemy only to die of blood loss. Yeah, that would suck.

"We finally did it." Inuyasha sighed in relief. He rolled what he had gotten from Naraku's corpse in his hand for a bit before handing it over to Kagome, "Here you go Kags."

Kagome took the portion of the Shikon jewel that Naraku had collected over the last two years. With her other hand, she grabbed the jar that held all of the shards they had collected. She made eye contact with Inuyasha and he nodded his head seriously. So, with a deep breath of determination, "Okay, let's do this."

She dumped the shards out of the jar into her hand and a new sense of stress started building within her. This was the first time she has held the entire jewel in her hand since the day she accidentally shattered it. Now she was going to finally fuse it back together. Kikyo had explained the specifics on how to go through with it a few months ago. She held the shards tight in her hand and directed the very last of her Ki into the jewel itself. A glow surrounded her hand and as her Ki nearly hit zero, she cut it off. With tense anticipation, she unclenched her fist and stared in awe at the complete Shikon jewel. She could already feel its increased power. For a few precious seconds, everything was perfect. The enemy was defeated, nobody from their side had died, and the jewel was once again complete.

So, of course, that is the moment everything went to shit. The jewel started glowing on its own and only a few feet away Midoriko started manifesting. As she became more solid and easier to see Kagome and Inuyasha could see the deranged look in her eyes. With the screech of an avenging spirit, she launched herself at Kagome. Kagome let out a screech of pain as the gash on her back met the ground.

"You shattered me! So, I shall shatter you." Midoriko shrieked at her as her hands wrapped around Kagome's throat.

Kagome clawed at Midoriko's arms desperately, she could already feel her oxygen being cut off. Inuyasha let out a snarl of anger as he dived at the person attacking his best friend. To his horror, he went right through her, though her grip around Kagome's didn't lessen. The ground underneath Kagome went from solid to wavering and she started sinking down. Kikyo started rushing towards the two struggling Mikos. If Midoriko truly was incorporeal to Inuyasha her mind came up with two possible scenarios. First, only Midoriko was able to touch Kagome and if that was true then her new friend was going to be lost to the newly opened up portal underneath her. Second, only those with spiritual powers were able to make contact. Kikyo hoped that was the one as she didn't want to lose Kagome. Kagome was important to Inuyasha, they were best friends, and she didn't want Inuyasha to lose someone else. Plus, she was starting to see the girl as a younger sister type figure. Kikyo lunged at the back of the vengeful spirit. A smirk appeared on her face as she was able to grab a fistful of hair. She pulled with all her might, trying to drag her off of Kagome.

An insane grin split Midoriko's face, "My pain was eternal as I was split, so I will see to it that your pain is far from finished as well. You shall be forever separated from family and friends with no possible way back. You will be alone and without help, as I had been. Your suffering is not over, it is only beginning." She screeched. If she couldn't slowly push the Miko that destroyed her soul into the portal to a new world, she would blast her. Midoriko charged up the last of the energy that made her up and released it all at once. It blasted Kagome far enough into the portal that she was passed the point of no return and it blasted the previously deceased Miko away so she could no longer interfere. With a hysterical laugh, she started dissipating. Her goal was complete, the girl would be pushed into a world that was not compatible with her body and would, in turn, kill her slowly. Midoriko disappeared with a smile on her face, she had easily just gotten her revenge.

As Kagome sunk into the portal, she heard the distressed screams and yells of all of her friends. Dread filled her as she realized that she was going to be unable to escape this. There would be no last-minute saves this time, she was on her own. She got one last look at Inuyasha and Kikyo before she was dragged into the toxic green portal.

As she tumbled uncontrollably through the portal, she could feel her body tearing itself apart. Was this how Midoriko felt the two years she was shattered? It was beyond painful and she was already starting to mentally lose focus. She felt herself slowing in her plummet, was she arriving wherever Midoriko was sending her or was this something else?

An old man dressed in white appeared in front of her, a concerned frown on his face. He looked down at her, his long beard swaying in the wind. She could feel the immense power flowing off of this man.

"You do not belong here young one." He said finally, "Your body composition is not compatible with the chakra of my world."

Kagome was in far too much pain to answer him so she merely looked at him with pain-filled eyes.

The man looked at her briefly before sighing, "You were sent to die it seems, such an unfortunate fate. Your soul is large and warm however, perhaps you deserve a second chance. My name is Hagoromo Otsutsuki, known as the sage of six paths where you are going. I shall give you a chance to live a new life in the world I am from. It is not a guarantee that you shall survive, however you shall at least not die from Chakra poisoning your body. Once you arrive you shall notice some changes to yourself, though they will be necessary. Within entering the world your body will be completely barren of chakra and having a smaller body to compensate will help keep you alive from the sudden rush of chakra absorbing into your body. I wish you luck young one, perhaps you may be the key to saving the future of my world."

With that final statement, Kagome was once again plummeting towards an entirely new world. As she finally crash lands she could feel that she was smaller, much smaller than she should be. She came to the realization a few minutes after she landed that the Sage's help wasn't going to mean anything at this point, she was still going to die. The gash on her back had not been taken care of and she was too tired to even move at this point. She had used up the rest of her Ki fusing the jewel back together so she couldn't even heal herself. She was going to pass out and die from blood loss. She felt tears streaming down her face as her eyes started to close. What a crappy way to die, she thought idly. Right before she closed her eyes, she saw bright blond hair and startling blue eyes, filled with concern. Something that would burn itself into her memory. A small sense of relief filled Kagome, not to be rescued though. No, they were in the middle of a forest and she couldn't sense any souls near to her besides the two that had appeared right next to her. No, she was just glad that she wouldn't be dying alone. Even if it was with total strangers. It was too late for her now. With that thought and one last glance at those blue eyes, Kagome succumbed to the beckoning darkness.

The next time Kagome opened up her eyes, confusion filled her, shouldn't she be dead? She clearly remembered passing out from blood loss in the middle of a forest. The blonde hair and blue eyes flashed in her mind once again. Did that guy save her? If he did, how did he do it? Her back was still really sore so she knew that the gash wasn't completely healed up, though it didn't hurt nearly as much as it should. That meant it had been healed up a bit. A frown pulled at her lips, how long has she been out? Kagome felt a sudden cramp in her hand and she looked down to see her hand fisted tightly. She flinched at the pain as she slowly straightened her fingers. She must have had her hand fisted for so long the muscles cramped up on her, which only added to the fact she must have been out for a while. Her eyes darkened in anger as she saw the Shikon innocently sitting in the middle of her palm. That's right, she had still had hold of the jewel as she got sucked down into the portal. She still wasn't free from the damned cursed jewel. She set the jewel on the bed next to her for now as she looked around. As she had said she was on a bed, a hospital bed by the looks of it. Yes, the room she was in was very similar to a hospital room in the future. Was that where she was? Back to her time? She looked for the little details and mentally shook her head. No, this wasn't the future. There was an entire forest outside of her window, there was no heart monitor or any other electronics for that matter. The hospital room she was in seemed to be somewhere between the feudal era and the future. So, that leads back to the main and most important question. Where was she?

Kagome was startled as she heard a gasp and she turned to see a girl dressed up in hospital scrubs, "Oh my gosh you're finally awake. I'll go grab doctor Hosho." And before Kagome could say a single thing she was gone.

Kagome felt the Shikon roll slightly and she quickly grabbed it and shoved it under her pillow. If someone else was coming she needed to try and limit the Shikon's dark pull. That was when she finally recognized the smallness of her hand. When she had opened her hand earlier, she was still a bit out of it from just waking up. She remembered that sage guy mentioning something about changes and she had felt smaller before. But, actually seeing it was an entirely different matter. Her hand was so small. She was still just staring at her hand when she heard someone enter her room.

"How are you feeling young one?" a man's voice asked.

Kagome turned to look at the man standing in the doorway of her room, he was wearing scrubs like the last girl only his seemed to cover everything but his face. He was a younger man, maybe eighteen at the most. She realized that she hadn't answered him yet, "My back hurts." She answered truthfully. She flinched slightly at the sound of her own voice. It was high pitched, so she was young enough to not have gone through puberty yet. That super sucked, she didn't want to have to go through that again.

The man nodded and stepped into the room, "My name is Doctor Hosho, and I shall be taking care of you. Your back hurting is to be expected, you have sustained quite the injury. Two of our Jonin found you on their way back from a mission and brought you back to our village."

There were a few things he had said that didn't make the most sense, but she figured it would probably be best if she didn't give away that she had no idea what he was talking about. The casual way he had said it made it seem like whatever Jonin was was common knowledge. She looked to the window again to hide her frown, "Where am I? And how long have I been out for?"

Hosho started at the child on the bed, she was digging for information. A civilian child would most likely ask where she was, but she wouldn't think to ask about how long she had been unconscious. The kid had at least some training. She didn't have much training as she probably would have tried to escape as soon as she woke up. Figures that she would wake up today, her daily visitor just got sent on a week-long mission this morning. He had already sent the nurse who got him to go inform the Hokage that their mystery guest had finally woken up, so he might at well entertain the girl for now.

"You are in Konoha village, the village hidden in the leaves. You have been in a coma type sleep for almost a month now. When our Jonin found you were on the verge of bleeding out and your chakra core was almost completely depleted. If they had found you even a minute later, you'd be dead kid. It took your core an extremely long time to refill and we assume that is the reason you were out so long." Hosho explained.

Kagome's eyes went wide, she's been out for almost a month? Well, maybe that did make some sense. From the way that he was talking about chakra, it was something needed for survival in this world. So, if her body was taking this chakra in for the first time ever then it would need time to… reboot, so to speak. Plus, it probably needed time getting used to her once again child body.

Also; Konoha, the village hidden in the leaves and Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the sage of six paths. What was with this place and their long-ass titles?

"Oh." She finally said, figuring that she should probably say something. The guy probably thought that she wasn't all there yet with the long pauses.

Hosho nodded solemnly before walking right next to her, "Alright then, let me start with the check-up."

Kagome let the man look with a huge blush upon her face. She knew that this shouldn't be awkward, it was just a hospital check-up. But it was still embarrassing having a man who would have been about her age before she was shrunk giving her a check-up. She however needed to act the age she looked like so she just sat there and did everything the man asked her to do. She was really hoping that she wouldn't have to do this again. They worked in relative silence until there was a knock on the door.

They both turned to see a middle-aged man in a white robe and hat walking into the room. Kagome watched as Hosho nodded his head in respect, "Lord Hokage." Kagome stared at the man; he was obviously important. Not only did Hosho call him Lord, he also bowed in respect to him as he entered. The leader of the village perhaps? He held himself with authority so it was probably a good guess.

"Hello little one, my name is Hiruzen Sarutobi and I am the Hokage. Are you feeling up to answering a few questions?" the man asked.

"I am finished up here for now. I will leave it to you, Lord Hokage." Hosho said and promptly left.

She could still feel that her Ki was extremely low, but she directed it to be able to see the Hokage's aura. His aura was warm, though clearly strong. She could practically feel the power rolling off of him. She nodded slowly to the Hokage, "I'll answer as best as I can, Sir."

The Hokage sat down next to her, "What is your name child?"

Kagome figured if she was going to be stuck here, she had better be as honest as possible. She probably shouldn't give anything away about her time traveling and portal jumping adventures though, they would lock her up in the looney bin with no evidence to prove she was telling the truth. She looked the Hokage in the eyes before saying, "My name is Kagome Higurashi."

"And where are you from Kagome-chan?" the Hokage asked kindly.

Kagome fidgeted slightly, unsure how to answer this one, "You probably wouldn't have heard of it, though it doesn't really matter anymore." Kagome lowered her head as tears sprung to her eyes, "It's gone now." She whispered sadly. It wasn't entirely untrue. While the place still technically existed, it was an entire dimension away. All of her friends may as well be dead to her, she would never get to see them again. Midoriko had made sure of that.

Hiruzen frowned, her village got destroyed? He put a calming hand on her leg and she sent him a watery smile, "I am sorry to hear that. However, I still would like to know the name of your village."

He said village; not city, not town, village. So, this place was leaning more toward the Feudal Era then modern Tokyo. She decided to go with her feudal home then, "it was called Edo." She paused slightly and decided to fabricate her town a small backstory as to hopefully explain why a seven-year-old was so ignorant about this world, "we were a small village, a few dozen people. Definitely less than a hundred people. We choose to keep ourselves isolated from everyone else, so we would hopefully stay peaceful. Not that it helped us in the end." She explained. She hoped that excuse would work. If the fake elders of her 'village' didn't want anything to do with things outside the village; then she would have grown up blissfully ignorant to anything outside of her village.

Hiruzen thought deeply for a moment, she was right. He had never heard of a small village called Edo. If she was somehow a spy, making up a village would be more suspicious than anything. Even having spent a short amount of time with her he was doubting she was a spy. She had this air of innocence to her like she wouldn't do something bad for badness' sake. He was Hokage however and he couldn't take any chances. The village's safety was always his top priority. After she was healed up more a Yamanaka clan member would be called in to perform a mind sweep. If she was cleared, she could then be put with a family as a trial run. If she wanted to stay within Konoha that is.

"Can you tell me what happened?" he finally asked.

Kagome hesitated for a few minutes, should she make up a story mixed between Naraku and Midoriko? She scrunched up her face so it would seem like her silence was building up the confidence to tell her traumatizing story. Once she got a general idea of what she wanted to say she started talking, "Like I said we kept ourselves separated from the rest of the world. We were a peaceful village." She suddenly remembered the jewel hidden under her pillow and realized she had to fit that into the story as well. If she as going to plan on staying here, at the very least the leader of the village deserved to know about the cursed jewel, "We were peaceful, however, we had many warriors in our village. Protectors, I guess you could call them. Our village was founded generations ago to protect a single cursed artifact." Kagome started mixing in details about Sango's original village to Edo, they had founded around the time the jewel was formed after all.

"We had holy people, monks, and priestess'. The cursed object's protection was passed down to the priestess with the highest amount of holy power to purify the darkness within it. My… sister, Kikyo, had been chosen as its most current protector. Though she wasn't very happy about it. I was also being trained by our grandma Kaede."

Hiruzen was frowning in concern about this supposedly cured object; however, "What does this have to do with the destruction of your village?"

Kagome pouted at the man's interruption. She was just getting into the flow of completely bullshitting this story while sticking as close to the truth as possible, "I was getting to that." She mumbled slightly before continuing.

"Kikyo found a man severely burned near the border of our village. Priestess' are healers at heart and she felt compelled to help the man. She moved him to a cave just within the borders of our village and started treating him. He somehow found out about the cursed object. To this day I'll never know if Kikyo told him about it, complaining about the duty she had been forced into. Or, if she had it on her and the darkness reached out to him, compelling him to try and obtain it." Okay, now she had to get a bit more creative. What she had told so far was simply an altered version of Kikyo's original story and Kagome's own traveling adventures. She didn't know if this world had demons or anything that would make up for what Naraku could do. She was so glad she had gotten so good at making up stories for Shippo, and later Rin. Kagome looked down and started playing with her blanket again, "Kikyo nursed the man, his name was Naraku, back to relative health. Then one day he attacked us. He was a monster, so strong and fast. We weren't nearly prepared for him. He slaughtered almost everyone, burning everything down around him. Then a group of our strongest protectors, my friends, rallied together and managed to kill him."

Kagome paused and anger built within her, "We were obviously sad about all of the ones that had died, but we were happy that the man had been killed, and the cursed object was still in our protection. Still mostly purified. What we didn't expect, however, was a second enemy. Midoriko came out of nowhere and killed everyone else except for my sister and myself. We ran for everything we were worth, but she was starting to catch up Kikyo shoved the cursed object at me and said it was my turn to protect it and to keep running. I didn't want to leave her behind, but in the end, I didn't have much choice. Kikyo wanted me to keep living, and I had to protect the object. Kikyo died protecting me, I'm not sure what happened to Midoriko. Hopefully, Kikyo took her down with her. she at least was too injured to keep following me. I ran as far as I could until I collapsed from exhaustion. I guess the wound on my back bleed too much and my body couldn't keep going anymore. That's when I'm guessing your Jonin found me." She finally finished and was absolutely proud of her faked masterpiece. She felt bad for killing her friends in the story, but she would never get to see them again here. They were the equivalent of dead to her. If any of her friends had been left alive in the story, she would have somewhere to go back to. Which, she obviously didn't.

Hiruzen looked at her with a serious look in his eyes. If everything she said was true, then there was possibly a dangerous kunoichi after the child to gain possession of a cursed object. So, if she was to stay with the village, she would have to go with at least a Chunin level ninja. If she was put with a civilian family, that would be putting that family at risk. That brought him to the question that needed to be asked next, "What is this cursed object your village protected, and where is it now?"

Kagome's face flushed red, had he actually believed her? was this going to work? She took a deep calming breath, "It is a small round jewel. Legend says that it was created by a priestess sacrificing her own soul to trap a very powerful demon with it with her. The two souls were then destined to fight each other for dominance of the jewel. If the jewel is a light pink, then it is pure and the least amount of threat to its surroundings. If it starts to dim; turning purple, or even black, then it is corrupt and it starts to pull people into its grasp."

Hiruzen slowly raised an eyebrow, "That does not answer what it does, or where it is?" she had expertly avoided both questions. The clone Hosho had sent to talk to him in the hall before he stepped in was correct. She was by no means a trained kunoichi. She had many tells as she told her story. He knew at least some of what she told was the truth, but he was assuming most of it was lies. There had been many short pauses, indicating the need to think about what she wanted to say next. She avoided direct eye contact, and she was constantly fiddling with her blanket. So, no, she definitely wasn't a trained kunoichi. She did, however, have at least some basic training. She had mentioned protectors of her village, perhaps they showed her some basic tricks of survival. He knew there was some truth to her story however, her eyes showed her pain.

"The jewel had a few different capabilities. It has the ability to grab onto a person's deepest desire and pull it towards the front. Take Naraku for example. At first, he started having feelings for my sister. Then he desired power, which the jewel could grant him." Kagome hesitated, should she tell him? What would the man do with the knowledge? Would he want to take it for himself, nor would he be able to resist the temptation? She looked to his aura once again and saw nothing but pure intentions. Well, there was really only one way to find out isn't there, "The jewel can increase a person's power and ability an astonishing amount. That isn't the truly dangerous part about it, however. The jewel is also capable of granting… wishes. The wish is always twisted beyond repair though. That's the twist. Anybody who wishes on it will always deeply regret making the wish in the first place. With each wish the jewel grants, the more twisted it becomes. Without a priestess keeping the jewel pure the demon soul within it will gain control and compel people to make a wish. If the jewel is corrupted and somebody touches it, they also become corrupted. The nicest and purest people can be twisted into becoming the cruelest and evil.

"It is said that a pure wish can make the jewel finally disappear. That's impossible, however. Making a wish is by definition selfish. Even if that wish was for someone else. The wish maker would always have some personal gain with the wish. Say I would simply wish for it to disappear, so it would no longer cause people harm. I would gain freedom from it however, so that would not truly be a _pure _wish." A melancholy look took over her face as she explained. She just now, truly, understood she would never be free from the jewel. The most she could do was protect it for her entire life and at the end pull a Kikyo. Take the jewel with her to the afterlife so her next reincarnation could continue its protection. She looked toward the Hokage and an embarrassed blush flushed across her cheeks, "Um, as to where it is now? Well… I hid it under my pillow before doctor Hosho came in. it was in my hand so I must have unconsciously purified it while I was asleep. I didn't have any better options at the time."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was completely baffled. This child claimed to have a wish-granting jewel. Not only that, but it was hidden under her pillow? The medic-nin had reported that she had been clutching something in her hand the whole time, but nothing they did made the girl unclench her fist. Once again, if this girl was telling the truth, then nobody could know about the jewel. It was simply far too dangerous. He needed to get a Yamanaka up here as soon as possible to do a mind walk. His gaze drifted to the girl as she dug her hand under her pillow, her face flinching slightly as her back pulled uncomfortably. When she pulled back, in her hand was a round pink jewel, the size of a large marble.

The jewel gleamed in the sun, "This, Hokage-sama, is the Shikon jewel."


	2. Chapter 2

The next two days went by pretty quickly for Kagome. Once the Hokage realized that she knew practically nothing about the world, he sent her some books that she could read to help her learn. She would guess that all of these books contained information that anybody could get access too. The older man seemed smart and until she was vetted by the Yamanaka clan member he had mentioned, she would learn nothing besides the most common information. What she learned from the books was interesting to say the least. The world was split between nine main countries, though there were some minor countries as well. Each of the main countries had a hidden village, which she was guessing was more like capitals more than anything else. She was currently in the land of fire, in the village hidden in the leaves, Konoha. This world did not have demons like hers did, however it had nine demons spread across the countries. Oddly enough one demon for each main country. These demons weren't allowed to wander free however, they were sealed into people. Which she thought was unusually cruel to both the demons and humans. She had tried to find out more information on that topic, but she had only found the one small chapter in the book she originally found it from.

The main thing that was different from her original world was chakra. Chakra was in almost everything, in the very air they breathed. This chakra gave people power, the more chakra they were able to hold the stronger they were. This brought upon the creation of ninja many, many years ago. Kagome was absolutely fascinated by the idea of regular humans being able to manipulate elements into amazing attacks. It reminded her of what demons were capable of from her world. She knew that she had chakra within her now, she was very curious to see if she was able to do anything like the books explained. Would she just have enough chakra within her to keep her alive like a civilian, or would she have enough to become a kunoichi? She would have to meditate as soon as she was completely alone, to see what she could sense within her. She had gotten really good at seeing her Ki core with the help of Kikyo. She wondered if she would just have another core for chakra, or if it would be somehow merged with her Ki.

She was in the middle of reading about how the chakra works along with the body when there was a knock on her door. She turned her head, expecting to see Doctor Hosho, only to see the Hokage and a new man. The new man seemed to be around the age of eighteen. He had long blond hair tied up in a ponytail. Around his forehead was tied a headband with a metal plate attached to it, with an odd design inscribed into it.

"Hokage-sama. What brings you here today?" Kagome aske politely. There was no need to rude to the person possibly giving her a future place to stay.

"Good afternoon Kagome-chan. This here is Inoichi Yamanaka, he will be doing the mind walk we talked about. Doctor Hosho has deemed you healed enough to be able to handle the mind walk." The Hokage explained.

Kagome looked at the blond man with new eyes, she had totally forgotten that the vetting the man was supposed to do was read her mind. The story that she had made up was going to be completely useless if the man was going to be able to see everything. It wasn't like she was going to be able to stop them; this was going to happen one way or another. It would probably be better for her in the long run to do this willingly. She wasn't happy about it though; she had a couple really bad experiences with people messing with her mind. This guy hopefully wouldn't be messing with her mind though, simply looking at her memories. If the guy did start doing something weird, she always did have a natural ability to be able to shake them out of her head. The biggest question she had was, what would they do to her after that. While she had become a decent fighter; training under Sango, Miroku, and even Sesshomaru… she was no longer her original size so her coordination would be all off, and her back was still very injured. Plus, she had no idea what they were capable of; what kind of jutsu's they could do. She would be completely defenseless against them if they decided she was a threat to the village. She really hoped that they were understanding. She suddenly realized that she had been silent for a while.

"Oh, um… hello Yamanaka-san. Sorry, I'm just a bit nervous." Kagome said slowly.

"Not a problem Kagome-chan, but there is nothing to worry about. You can call me Inoichi-san. This jutsu won't hurt at all I promise. I'll just be looking through your memories to make sure that what you've told Lord Hokage is the truth." Inoichi explained to her as he sat down in the chair next to her. Sometimes these things took a while and sitting down made it more comfortable. His father had told him to do this one mind walk as practice. A child found in the woods was much easier than a criminal. He was in line as clan heir and his father wanted him to be more involved with the clan's duties.

"Well I'm ready when you are." Kagome said with a strained smile.

Inoichi smiled at the obviously nervous kid, who was trying to put on a strong front before putting his hands in the correct position and activating the jutsu. In the next instant he was within the child's mind. He knew almost instantly that something was off, the mind was much bigger than it should be with bright memory orbs littering everywhere. The larger the mindscape, the older the mind is. With a mindscape this big she should be about his age, not a seven-year-old. He looked around trying to find a good place to start. He wandered for a bit before finding a bright memory orb that had a pull to it. Those usually meant a big moment in the person's life. He floated over before touching the orb, instantly being sucked into the memory.

Confusion ran through Inoichi as he merged with the Kagome in the memory. When he entered memories like this, he basically became that person for a short while. He would say and do everything they had done, but he would also feel their emotions as well. The first thing he noticed was wrong was, he was much taller than the current seven-year-old on the bed. He was in a pretty normal looking home, though there were a couple things that he couldn't really place.

"Shikon-no…what?" he heard himself ask.

"Shikon-no-tama my girl. The jewel of four souls."

He lifted a keychain in front of him, that had a light pink jewel attached to the bottom of it, "You don't think tourists are actually going to buy these dumb things, do you?" she asked skeptically.

"That is not just a keychain." An old man was kneeling across the room from him, her grandpa. He was holding another keychain, only this one a bright pink, "That crystal there on the end is a replica of an ancient jewel which… Hmm…"

A large cat started playing with the jewel in his hand and amusement filled her. She started playing with the cat which threw her grandpa off just a bit.

The old man cleared his throat to get the attention back on him, "As I was saying, that crystal is a replica of an ancient jewel which…"

She was losing interest in what her grandpa was saying again, she had her arm reached all the way out and the cat was stretched as far as it could go to try and reach it. Amusement flitted through her again as the cat fell flat in his attempts.

"An ancient jewel…"

Ugh she didn't want to hear this, so she just interrupted him, "You do know remember it's my birthday tomorrow, right?"

Her grandpa dropped the jewel, clearly annoyed, before suddenly laughing.

"I planned to wait another day but…"

"So, you did get something, hand it over." She said excitedly.

Disbelief filled her as she held up what looked like the hand of, something.

"That my dear is an authentic mummified hand of a water imp, which…"

"Here Buyo." She sighed in disappointment, yet acceptance, as she handed the 'present' over to the cat, "Eat."

The cat instantly bit down on it and her grandpa started freaking out, "That's an antique!"

"_Replica this, authentic that. Here everything's got a story." _She thought exasperated.

**The scene flashed forward a few hours until they were sitting at a kitchen table**

"These pickles are full of history." The old man declared seriously. He could vaguely see out of the corner of his eyes a younger boy sitting next to her, and a middle-aged woman standing close by. He was assuming her mother and what seemed like a younger brother. This was something else that was a bit weird, where was the older sister she had been talking about?

"Not half as full as you are." She snarked back to him.

**The memory flashed forward again…**

"_My fifteenth birthday!" _she thought happily as she woke up. Inoichi was confused, fifteen? The kid on the bed was only seven, what was going on?

"I'm leaving." She announced as she ran out the door. He could see an expansive looking shrine as she ran. Inoichi's eyes went wide when he finally saw the village she lived in. It was huge, he couldn't see the end of it. The buildings reached towards the sky, most of them almost completely covered in glass. This was impossible, he had never seen architecture as advanced as this. Didn't she say she was from a small village? How where those buildings even build? What where they made of? Where in the world was something this large hidden?

He got brought back to the current as he suddenly stopped, "Hey, what are you doing?" she asked. Her little brother was standing at the open doorway of a small building.

"Nothing." He denied instantly.

"You're not supposed to play in there." she warned him as she approached.

"I'm not. It's the cat." The boy denied.

"Did he go down to the well?" she asked.

"Buyo." The boy called, drawing out the name slowly, "I don't know where else he could be."

"So, go down." She answered simply as she squatted down next to the kneeling boy.

"Why do I gotta be the one?" he asked, a tint of uneasiness in his voice.

"Because you're the one that's looking for him."

There was a sudden clawing noise coming from inside the well house. Her brother yelled out in fear and jumped behind her, "There's something down there!"

"Uh, yeah, the cat." She said in a duh tone. She stood back up with a huff and started walking down the stairs. _"That sound, from inside the well." _There was a sudden bang next to her and she shrieked in surprise, her brother yelling out as well. Inoichi mentally narrowed his eyes; if the cat was at his feet, then what was in the well? Because he had clearly heard something from within there.

"Buyo." The brother said as the cat started rubbing himself across her legs. She bends down to pick him up as her brother continued talking, "You make fun of me because I'm scared and then your all, Aaahh." He teased.

Kagome quickly turned to face her brother, "Look who's talking mister, why do I have to go?" she defended herself.

Her brother quickly stood up, a fear in his eyes, "Behind you." He warned.

He felt the lid that was over the well explode open as strong gusts of wind poured from it. He felt terror flood through him as something grabbed his shoulders and dragged him backwards, right into the well. He could barely move, but whatever had hold of him was slowly turning him around to face it. Horror built within him as he saw the top half of a naked lady, with three sets of arms.

"Oh, to be alive once more. Already my strength returns." The lady's ethereal voice said. He watched in a sick fascination as the bottom half of her, previously a bony tail started building back up, becoming like a centipede. The monster pulled her closer as she tried to escape, "You have it don't you? Give it to me." The lady's tongue came out of her mouth, stretching much further than it should as it licked her on the cheek.

"What are you doing? LET GO!" she shouted putting her hand on the lady's face trying to push her away. Suddenly her hand started glowing pink and confusion blossomed, why was her hand glowing.

"The sacred jewel. I must have the sacred jewel." The monster called out as she fell away.

"The sacred jewel?" she asked confused as she floated down in the weird and terrifying place she was in. She landed slowly onto the bottom of the well, breathing heavily, "I guess I must have fallen in the well." She said trying to deny what had just happened. She grabbed hold of her shoulder, it kinda hurt, _"Maybe I bumped my head or…" _she turned her head and saw the arm she had severed off with the weird pink light, "Or maybe not. Either way." She stood up, she needed to get out of this well.

**The memory started moving faster. Kagome climbed out of the well when her brother didn't answer her and confusion filled her as all she saw around her were trees. Where did her shrine go? She called out to her family and when none of them answered she ran when she saw the large tree. When she got there, there was a boy pinned to the tree by an arrow. She was fascinated by the dog ears on his head but was stopped when a group of guys shot arrows at her. The next thing she knew she was tied up in an old looking village as the people stared at her funnily**

"You didn't have to tie me up you know." She said as she tried to get her hands untied. She heard a lot of murmuring around her as they all talked about her. She heard something about a shape-shifting fox before the voices blended together. She looked at all the men's hairstyles. Topknots, they all had topknots. _"What is this, Japan medieval times?"_

"Make way for high-priestess Kaede." A man called out, grabbing her attention. Ah this was the grandmother that she had mentioned in her original story. If she was just meeting her here and now, maybe it was like an adoptive grandmother or something similar.

An old lady approached her, using a longbow as a walking cane. She started throwing rice at her, "Demon be gone."

"HEY!" she called out angrily, "I'm not a demon okay."

The lady suddenly started manhandling her while basically insulting her as well.

**The scene flashed to nighttime and they were inside the old lady's hut. **

"Bare us no ill will child, for though now I do see ye mean us no harm. In these hard times of war, no stranger may be welcomed among us without deep distrust." The lady apologized. War? What was she talking about, there was no war.

"We really aren't in Tokyo anymore, are we?"

"To-key-yo? Never heard of it. Is that where your people are from?" the lady asked confused.

"Uh, yeah. So, I'll, uh, should get going." She said in a fake happy voice. _"Though I have no idea how to get back of course."_ She thought sadly.

They ate in silence for a few moments before they were startled by a series of large explosions. Kaede rushed out of the door, "What is going on?" she asked.

Kagome wasn't far behind her when she heard a man call out, "It's a monster!"

Kagome watched in horror as the centipede lady from before was carrying a horse in its mouth and she took out a group of men with one swish of her tail. The now dead horse was dropped in front of her and she felt ill.

"It's that thing." She shouted out in surprise.

"Give me the sacred jewel." The monster demanded before practically flying towards her. She got knocked to the side and she fell to the ground.

Determination filled her as she started running towards the shining beam of light in the forest, trying to lead the monster away from the people. It was after her after all, for some reason. The lady was screaming at her to give the jewel to her, which she kept denying she had it. She didn't even know what it was! He was suddenly pushed from the memory as she went flying through the air when the centipede lady crashed into the ground just behind her.

Inoichi was at a loss as to what to do. The Hokage had told him what the girl had said, so he would be able to compare it to her memories. But just that single memory, didn't add up at all. Not only was this girl eight years younger than the girl in the memory, but what he had seen in the memory left him beyond confused. There was a demon, but it wasn't one of the nine. From the villager's murmuring it had seemed like there were more demons as well. It seemed not only was she from somewhere completely different from the elemental nations, but she had somehow traveled back in time as well. Should he continue looking through memories, or should he jump out now and tell the Hokage? What she had said was obviously not the truth, but he also had to admit the girl wasn't a bad kid. She had risked her own life for the sake of the villagers that had attacked her just hours previously. That memory wasn't even one of the newest ones, he realized as he looked around once again. She had nearly three more years worth of memories to build onto that. Her memories ended near her eighteenth birthday. He hesitated a moment more before backing out of the girl's memory. This wasn't something that they did often, but they were able to bring people in with them. It just took a lot more chakra and concentration. This was definitely something that the Hokage needed to view. He was not the right man to make a decision this big, this girl was an anomaly.

As he exited both him and the girl let out a gasp, it was always a bit of a shock exiting the mind.

The Hokage looked at him strangely, "Well, that was certainly quick Inoichi-san." These things tended to take at least an hour to do, he was barely in her mind for a minute.

The girl looked at him with wary eyes; she was afraid, "What… what did you see?" she asked cautiously.

"The day you fell into the well." He answered truthfully.

The girl flinched slightly, her lips pursing in anticipation, "Oh." Was all she said.

Inoichi looked to the Hokage, "I know this goes against protocol, but this is something that you need to see as well. There are things I can't explain and honestly I think that this needs to be kept a secret if what I'm suspecting in true."

The Hokage looked at the heir to the Yamanaka clan seriously before nodding and sitting down in the other spare chair next to the boy, "Very well." He replied.

Inoichi made the connection to the Hokage before turning back to the girl, "We are going back in." he warned her and she nodded, accepting her fate. He made the appropriate hand sign and they were back within her mind. He showed the Hokage the one he had already viewed before moving onto more.

They watched her accidently shatter the jewel in her attempt to get it back from the crow demon. They watched her make her friends. The half dog demon Inuyasha. The fox demon Shippo. The Perverted con-man Monk, Miroku, with the cursed hand. The demon slayer Sango, whose entire family had been slaughtered and her brother taken hostage. The remainder of the demon wolf tribe; Koga, Ginta, Hakkaku, and Ayame. Eventually Inuyasha's elder brother Sesshomaru and his crew. There were various friends and allies through out the years, Kagome seemed to be able to make friends wherever she went.

They watched the battles, the struggles. They watched her start training to become more useful, starting with her archery. She then trained with the monk, learning how to better control her powers. Meditation, sutras, barriers, and even fighting with a Shakujo staff. Next was Sango who taught her hand to hand combat, poisons and their antidotes, and basic survival. The surprising tutor was the demon Lord Sesshomaru who taught her more advanced fighting techniques and swordsmanship. They watched as the clumsy fifteen-year-old girl turned into a battle ready seventeen-year-old.

They watched in a manner of fascinated horror of this girl's world. It was overrun with demons, most of them mindless creatures ready to kill you without a second thought. How she was somehow the reincarnation of the last holder of the Shikon and now the duty to protect it was thrust onto her. Her soul being stolen to resurrect said dead priestess. How the initial rivalry and hatred, turned to friendship and sisterhood. The crush she gained for the half-demon was quickly dismissed into viewing him like a brother by the end of her first year. They watched her travel between the feudal era stuck in the middle of a long war, and the modern future which she was starting to lose touch with. They watched her try and juggle her responsibility to gather the jewel shards, and keeping up with school. All of the ridiculous excuses her grandfather made up for her. She grew so distant from the future that she dropped out of high school, and invested her time into helping out in the feudal era. She went home less and less, planning on staying in the feudal era after everything. She threw herself into helping her feudal family. Inuyasha, Miroku, and even Sesshomaru were like her brothers. Sango and little Rin were her sisters. Kaede was her loving grandmother. And she had started viewing Shippo as a son. Near the end of her last year there the fox had even started calling her Mama.

They watched the battles with Naraku, and his seemingly never-ending supply of incarnations. The struggles to try and get more jewel shards before he could. That all lead to the final battle with him. It was long, and hard fought. But they won, and nobody died. Both Inoichi and the Hokage were confused as this was nearly the last memory she had. Why would it end here? It was practically a happy ending. During their trip through her memories they had come to care for the girl, she was a tough fighter. The Hokage at one point had smiled, saying that she was practically the embodiment of the will of fire. They were rooting for her eventual win. The wound on her back made much more sense as they saw the miasma infused tentacle slash across her back as she tried in vain to dodge it. They looked at everyone collapsed in exhaustion across the bloody, body filled, battlefield. Then they fused the jewel together and they watched as everything went wrong.

The legendary Miko who she had looked up to started attacking her, insanity in her eyes. And she fell through the portal, knowing she would never be able to see her second family again. Not unless Midoriko suddenly decided to stop trying to kill her and make a portal back to her friends, which was beyond unlikely. Their hearts had nearly stopped in shock as the sage of six paths himself saved the girl who would have died from chakra poisoning by changing the nearly eighteen-year-old into a seven-year-old and giving her body proper chakra channels that would coincide with her original Ki core. Which lead then to the present.

They realized that while the story she told had been very much fake, there had been truths littered through the entire thing. She had wanted to be truthful. Her thoughts as she had been explaining it wrapped up their thoughts nicely, would they have even believed her if she had told them the truth before the mind walk. No, no they wouldn't have. With one final look at each other Inoichi had them exit her mind.

Kagome groaned and lifted a hand to her head; she had a headache.

"I'm sorry about that, headaches don't usually occur unless it's a lengthy session or I have to force myself in. Going through your memories took longer than I originally though they would. I probably should have taken a break partway through, so for that I apologize." Inoichi apologized.

Kagome groaned again, "Its fine, I've had worse." She whined out. This was something she had noticed in the past couple days. While she did think like her almost eighteen-year-old self, she had many tendencies and the emotional capacity of a child her current age.

"So… What's going to happen to me now?" Kagome asked cautiously.

The Hokage looked at her, the sage of six paths was correct. This girl deserved a second chance, she had just lost so much. He cleared his throat, "I will continue on with my original plan to integrate you into the village. You shall be put with a family on a trail basis. For the first three months, per regulations, you must be supervised by a Chunin level ninja at all times. If you choose to stay you won't be allowed outside of the village for your first year. Then after that you may choose to do whatever you wish if you pass your probationary year without issue. In fact, I've already had a volunteer to take you in, he's been quite adamant about it actually. He's one of the two that found you, and I've heard he visited you every day until he got assigned a mission. Personally, I think you two would fit nicely together, your personalities will mesh very well."

Kagome looked up at him with wide eyes, "That's it? You're not going to like, lock me away of something?" honestly the worst-case scenarios had been running through her head since she had woken up.

The Hokage smiled at her, "My dear, you forget that I've seen your character. We felt your emotions through your journey. You are by no means an enemy to this village and I will welcome you with open arms. The story that you told me will become your official story that I tell to the village elders. So, if you would like to stay, I would like to officially welcome you to Konoha."

Tears filled her eyes; they weren't going to lock her in a dungeon somewhere and do creepy experiments. They were understanding, and welcoming even. She smiled softly, as Inuyasha would say, she had an annoying ability to make friends wherever she went. It looked like that didn't fail her here, "Thank you. I would love to stay here." If all she couldn't do was leave the village for a year, that seemed like a small price to pay. She could do research of this world and possibly do some training. See if she could do any of those cool jutsu that she had been reading about.

"Very well then. Your new guardian is off on a mission at the moment, but should be back within a few days. You'll have to stay in the hospital until then I'm afraid. But, as soon as he comes back and I inform him that his request to house you has been accepted, you'll be able to go home with him. Welcome to Konoha, Kagome-chan." The Hokage said with a smile.


	3. Chapter 3

Kagome was stuck in the hospital for another week and a half since the Hokage had welcomed her into the village. She had thrown herself into reading anything and everything that she could get her hands on. There was a lot about this world that she didn't know and that really bothered her. At least when she got sent back in time to the feudal era, she had her own history lessons to go off of. The geography was still the same, even if there were tons of more trees. This world, however, was completely different. She didn't know how to traverse this village, outside of the walls was just out of the question.

She had been cleared to leave the hospital four days ago now and she was getting anxious to leave. Apparently, she had started accepting the medical ninjutsu much better once she had woken up. She was healed up enough to walk around, though she did have to take it easy for another month. She knew that she had to wait for her new guardian, who the Hokage was being quite tight-lipped about, but she wanted out of this room. She was dying to be out in nature again, just seeing the trees outside of the window was torture. She was hoping that the person she would be living with for this year would have at least one tree by their house. She had spent the last year exclusively in the feudal era, surrounded by nothing but nature. She was by no means a city girl anymore. She let out a sigh as she put the book down on the history of Konoha. While she did want to learn as much as she could, she was bored. She was getting tired of only reading. She did need to compile information, but she needed something to do in-between that. Her seven-year-old mind was itching to do anything else at the moment. With another sigh she started picking up the book again, it wasn't like there was anything else to do. In the end, reading was better than just sitting on the bed, bored. She spent another hour reading when her door was suddenly thrown open. For the past two weeks whenever someone entered her room they knocked first, so what she did next she decided that she had a pretty good excuse.

Kagome let out a shriek and promptly threw the book at the intruder. The flat part of the book connected with the face of the surprised intruder before it fell to the floor with a thump. Kagome's eyes went wide and her hands went up to cover her mouth. She had not meant to actually do that, it had been a complete reflex, "Oh my gosh I'm so sorry!" Kagome blurted out.

The man was frozen there in shock, his forehead turning red from where the book had made contact. Suddenly he burst out in laughter, "It's good to see that you're feeling better."

Kagome took a better look at the man, he looked about fifteen. It was then Kagome noticed his blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Kagome's hands dropped and she looked at him with wide eyes, "It's you. You're the one that saved me, aren't you?" Kagome asked.

The guy smiled at her as he entered to room more and sat down next to her, "Yup, that was me. Well, my sensei and myself. My name is Minato Namikaze, what's yours?"

"Kagome Higurashi." She answered simply.

"Nice to meet you Kagome-chan. I was hoping that you would wake up before I had to go out on a mission, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. I was told I get the next three months off without of village missions though while you're on your first stretch of probationary time."

Kagome looked at him slightly confused, "What?"

"Didn't the Hokage tell you?" Minato asked. When Kagome shook her head, Minato let out a fond sigh, "Of course he didn't. He was probably waiting for me to make a fool of myself. Anyway, I was told this morning when I got back, that my request to house you got accepted. So, as of today, you'll be moving in with me." He smiled at her.

Kagome was dumbfounded for a moment; this guy was going to be her guardian? He was still a kid himself, shouldn't she be put with an adult? Now she knew what was behind the knowing smirks the Hokage had been giving her the past couple days. She gave a silent sigh at the Hokage's sense of fun, "So, you're gonna be my guardian from now on?" Kagome asked the cheery blond. This was going to be odd, that's for sure. It was going to take some time to remember that she was seven again. So, to her mind a boy that was younger than she had been was going to be looking after her. That was really going to take time to work her mind around. He should be listening to her, not the other way around her mind thought ironically.

"Yup, I just have to fill out some paperwork with the hospital to get you released and then we can head out. Why don't you pack up your books and we can head out?" Minato said as he stood up.

"Oh, they're not mine. Hokage-sama was letting me borrow them so I'd have something to do while I wait. I should probably give them back now that I'm leaving." Kagome said, putting a few books she had on the bed onto the bedside table.

Minato frowned, remembering that she had nothing on her, but the blood-soaked clothes on her back when they had found her. Those clothes were most likely destroyed in the attempt to save her life. She honestly had nothing. That was going to have to change. He was the last surviving member of the Namikaze clan; he wasn't short on money, and never would be. Unlike Jiraiya, he was able to save his money. Ever since Jiraiya and himself found her, he felt this irrational urge to protect her. He didn't really mind though, she seemed like a nice kid. So, he had the resources, and the will, to help her get some things that were hers once again.

"That's alright, I have a lot of books and scrolls at home you can read." He told her, then after a moment's thought, he moved to look at her selection of books. One was about the history of Konoha, another about geography, there were a few about general knowledge of jutsu and shinobi protocol, the most surprising ones where the medical ninjutsu books. He had most of the books laying around at his house, however, "If you want to bring the medical books with you, feel free. I have the rest at home, but I'm not a med-nin so I've never needed to pick those up. I can always make sure they get back to where they belong after your done with them."

Kagome hesitated for a moment before nodding and grabbed the offered books. The knowledge was too good to pass up. Like she had told the Hokage earlier, Mikos were healers at heart. Kagome had gotten really good at her healing abilities, she had plenty of practice with how often her friends got hurt. She was very interested in this new way of healing people. Her Ki wasn't limitless, and if her chakra was separate from her Ki. That would hive her double the reserves to heal people. She hugged the books to her slightly.

Minato smiled brightly at her, "Okay, I'll be right back Kagome-chan." He then left to quickly fill out the release forms. He was excited to finally bring her home. He had always wanted a younger sister, someone to protect and love. However, his mom died shortly after he was born and his dad never remarried. His father had died on a mission a few years ago and he had been on his own ever since. Kagome was his chance to gain a family again. To bring some more noise, laughter, color and love back to the Namikaze district. Nearly all of the clan had been killed during the second shinobi world war. The rest had died of old age, sickness, or missions gone wrong. Now, it was just him. He had recently been thinking of moving out of the Namikaze district and to a small apartment in the city. Now that he was taking in Kagome, he was glad that he didn't. If she decided to stay with him after her probationary period, it would be better if she was raised within the clan district that could possibly become her own.

While Minato went to fill out her release forms Kagome got changed into the outfit that Inoichi had bought her a couple of days ago, for the day she would get out of the hospital. He had visited her when he could the past week. He was pretty fun to talk to, especially since she didn't have to hide anything from him. He literally knew everything about her. As she put the dress on, she realized that Inoichi had a good eye. It was a simple, light blue, sundress. It had a cherry blossom design at the bottom of it. He had also given her a pair of black shorts to wear underneath it, which she really appreciated. A pair of black ballet flats finished off her first complete outfit in this world. Her back was a bit tight, but at least it didn't really hurt anymore. It was definitely going to leave a nasty scar, thanks to Naraku's miasma, but she didn't really mind. That would serve as the eternal reminder of her trials and adventures in the feudal era. It was only a few minutes before Minato came back onto her room.

Minato stopped short as he saw Kagome. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, in new clothes, hugging her two new books to her chest. A huge smile broke out over his face. She was so cute! He cleared his throat to get her attention and her bright blue eyes shot towards him, "Let's head out." Kagome nodded as she hopped off the bed and followed after him. As they left Kagome waved goodbye to Doctor Hosho, he had been her doctor for her entire stay and was a nice man. They walked through the village in relative silence, Kagome looking around her in wonder. It was her first time finally being able to see Konoha beyond the forest through her hospital room window. He let the silence go on for a few more minutes before he started explaining his game plan, "So, we are going to head to our house first and I'll show you which room will be yours. From there you'll be able to see what you want for your new room. We'll have to start from scratch; paint, bedding, clothes, decorations, and you seem to like to read so some bookcases or shelves, along with some books to fill them. If there is anything you see while we are out in the markets don't hesitate to grab it. I have a ton of money that I don't really use. I'm not a huge spender and the missions I get assigned pay a lot. Plus, the Namikaze clan is a very old clan and I have access to a lot of family money."

Kagome listened to him, her eyes slowly widening in a type of horror as he spoke. He wanted her to what? There was no way in hell that she was going to be spending a ton of his money. Until she found a way to start making her own money, she would be fine with what was already in the room. She was going to be enough of a burden already, she didn't need to throw his money away as well. No matter how rich he claimed to be. Honestly, what was wrong with this guy, he was already calling it _our_ house?

"That won't be necessary Minato-san, honestly. I'm fine with the basics." Kagome denied immediately. For a while now she had simply been traveling around feudal Japan during the day and sleeping out in the woods at night. Very rarely did they have enough money, or find someone gullible enough, to find an inn or something.

Minato frowned, "We'll see." He said cryptically. If she was going to be stubborn about it, he had a few tricks up his sleeve. He could always just observe her closely when they were out and come back later and buy the things that she lingered on while they were out. That was the easiest thing to do, there were other things he could think of as well. After another ten minutes of walking, they finally came to the gates of the Namikaze district. It wasn't a huge district; holding only twenty or so homes surrounding the head house. There was a decent-sized park and the district was surrounded by trees on three sides. Minato explained to her that it was like a smaller version of the Nara district, in fact, their district borders theirs. On the other side of their clan was the Aburame's. Minato did like it here, but it did get quiet and lonely all by himself.

"This is where you live?" Kagome asked, unconsciously keeping her voice lower in the quieter surroundings. The homes looked like they were well kept, but it was obvious they were abandoned. It was a glorified ghost town.

"This is where _we_ live." Minato replied cheekily, "Yeah, I'm the last of my clan so it's pretty quiet these days."

Kagome frowned slightly as she looked at the houses. This place almost reminded her of Sango's village after it had been attacked, "How long have you been by yourself?" she asked without really thinking about it and her eyes grew wide, "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that. Losing people is painful." She said that last sentence in a barely audible whisper. She had been thinking about Sango, she didn't even stop to think about her question.

Minato laughed slightly at her panic, "That's fine, ask any question you like. I don't mind." He turned them towards his house, "My dad died three years ago and he was my last living relative. It's been a quiet three years." He answered as they came to a stop in front of his home. It was the head house, so it was much bigger than the ones surrounding it. It was the only two-storied home in the district, and it was placed on the border of the forest behind the rest of the houses. It was clear that it was the only lived-in home, even if the rest were well kept. There were flower beds on either side of the door, colorful flowers in bloom. The entire property had a white picket fence around it, showing its large boundary.

"This is your house?" Kagome asked in awe as Minato opened up the front gate and she followed him in. He started telling her specifics about the house. This house had always belonged to the head of the Namikaze clan, which he had actually belonged to and not just inherited since he was the only one left. He had grown up in this home. It had a large master bedroom, along with six extra bedrooms. They were meant to be guest rooms for any visitors that had business with the Namikaze clan. It had a study/office that had a lot of books lining the walls. The living room was large yet homey. The kitchen was absolutely to die for and Kagome couldn't wait to cook something in it. Minato had taken over the master bedroom after his dad died, which had a connecting bathroom to it. Besides the master bathroom, there were three other bathrooms. Kagome could not believe just how enormous this house was. How in the world did Minato live in the house all by himself and not go crazy? She didn't think she would be able to do it. If she had been him, she would have almost had to go to one of the smaller homes that they had walked past. Honestly, this would be the equivalent of moving into Kaede's house if all of her friends and the rest of the townsfolk had died. Living in the shadow of a ghost, constantly. Kagome brushed off a few of Minato's odd quirks as him just trying to get by mentally, he had earned a bit of respect in her mind.

Then Minato finished up the tour with the room he planned on putting her in, the second largest room in the house. Her first thought of the room was… beige. Everything was beige and tan; from the walls to the carpets and the bedding.

While she knew she needed new clothes, that wasn't exactly something she could get around when they went out. She might take him up on the offer of new paint for her walls. All the beige might make her go insane after a while. And one insane Miko connected to the jewel was quite enough. It was a pretty nice room altogether. Though, once she was able, she would probably update the furniture. It was all pretty old. But that probably wouldn't happen for a while. Besides Minato possibly giving her an allowance of some kind, which she didn't expect him to do, what possible way was there for a seven-year-old to make money? She still didn't want to use Minato's money; it just felt wrong, no matter how willing he was to give it. Her eighteen-year-old mentality just didn't want to take money that she hadn't earned. While she had been reverting to a more childish mindset in the past few weeks, that part didn't seem to be affected by the change. She wondered just how much more she was going to start thinking or acting like a seven-year-old before she finally settled out. She was giving herself probably another month or two before all of the changes were done. At least she was hoping, with how slowly she was reverting she was assuming it would take that long. She just hoped that she didn't lose important parts of herself as the seven-year-old fought to the surface.

Kagome walked over to the dresser and laid her two books down on top of it. There were no shelves or anything in the room, so that would have to do for now. It suddenly dawned on Kagome just how much she would need to change about this room until she was done with it, and it was going to take a long while. She gave a little huff as she turned back around to the amused looking Minato leaning up against her doorway.

"Ready to go?" he asked with a gloating smirk. He had given her this room in retaliation about her not wanting to get new things. Once he realized that she caught on to his plan he winked at her before started to head back out, "Let's go get you some stuff, shall we Kagome-chan?"

Kagome pouted as she followed him out, "This obviously wasn't the room you used before you took over the master bedroom, so where is your childhood room?" why couldn't she use that one, was the unasked question. It was probably way more lived-in than that bare essentials beige room.

"Oh, that's up on the top floor. It is clearly a boy's room so I don't think that you would want it. That room is not only the second largest, but it is neutral and gives you plenty of opportunities to make it your own." He smirked down at her, "You know, once you get some stuff and transform it into something you'd be proud to call your own."

Kagome glared at him, he planned it. He planned all of that. Oh, he was good. Her bedroom just so happened to be right next to his as well, how convenient. Well if he wanted to fight dirty, she could play dirty. She was an expert at minimalistic living, she could play his game. She'd be fine with a sleeping bag in the middle of the woods.

Later that night, after they finished shopping, Kagome was glaring at their haul in her room. Minato was exceptionally persuasive. She had gotten much more than she originally planned on, though not nearly as much as Minato wanted her to get. She was calling this one a draw. She had gotten new paint for her room, which they were going to do within the next few days. She had also gotten new bedding, something Minato had insisted upon and had not let her leave until she picked one out. A new small wardrobe was now in her dresser and closet. He had gotten her a small bookcase, which she hadn't asked for. She still only had the two medical books from the hospital so she had at least managed to avoid getting more for now. She could read the ones he had in the house already before she got some of her own. She had also managed to redirect his attention when he tried to get her decorations for her room. There were also the things that Minato had bought her while she was looking at clothes. He had gotten her a stuffed dog and rabbit, which she was conflicted about. They were cute, but she had grown out of stuffed animals years ago. On the other hand, she was now the age again that she had been big into stuffed animals. So, in the end, she just shrugged and accepted them. Minato had said something about them possibly helping her during the night. She didn't exactly understand what he meant, but whatever.

Minato had said goodnight about an hour ago with the order to go to bed herself. She couldn't fall asleep however, her mind was too wired up for some reason. She gently reached out with her Ki and felt Minato's aura had calmed extremely, which meant he was asleep. She stretched her senses a bit further and realized that there was no one else near them. Realization built up in her, she was finally by herself. Well, Minato was in the next room but he was asleep and she didn't think he would wake up anytime soon. At the hospital, nurses were checking in on everybody every hour or so, though it was sporadic and she could be interrupted at any time. She could finally meditate and look within to see what she could see with this Chakra. She tended to have a habit of glowing lightly when she got into deep meditation and she didn't really want random people to know that.

She pulled her Ki back into herself and moved into sitting in a cross-legged position on her bed. She closed her eyes and started meditating. It took her a lot longer than usual to calm down enough to enter a meditative state, which she was blaming on the fact that she was younger hence having a harder time concentrating. She immediately saw her Ki core; it was slightly smaller than usual but again she was blaming that on her younger body. It would make sense that her younger body would also host a smaller core. Though she also thought that it was much bigger than one her age would usually have. What she didn't notice was anything different from her core. Her core was located, approximately behind her heart. She poked and prodded at her core, trying to find anything different with it, besides its size. Nothing, there was nothing different with it. So, where was her chakra? She backed off from her core and just looked within her in general. With her core she always knew where it would be, Kaede had instructed her when she first started meditating. This, however, was going to be new. As she looked over herself, she saw slight blue strings of energy going through her entire body. She remembered reading about Chakra channels flowing through the body in one of the medical books she had been reading. So, if she follows the flow in the opposite direction… in theory, it should lead to her Chakra pool. Correct?

Going with that train of thought she focused on one string of Charka and followed the flow downstream. She came to a stop to an area that would be in the general area of stomach and found a pool of what she was assuming her Chakra. She frowned slightly, she had no idea if she had a large pool or a small one. She had no context with hers being the only one she's seen. She watched her pool very gradually grow deeper, one drip at a time like it wasn't done being filled yet. So, she was going to assume that she had enough Chakra to do jutsu's. She didn't think that her pool would still be building if she didn't have the ability to become a ninja. She pulled herself out of her meditation and laid back down. She tried going to sleep, but for some reason, she just couldn't. She spent most of the night clinging to her new stuffed dog trying to will herself to sleep.

The next morning Kagome woke up before Minato. She was probably working off of possibly two hours of sleep at the most. She was exhausted, but she was used to working off of a small amount of sleep. Being so much younger really wasn't going to help though. She decided that one of the things that she was going to do to earn her keep here, was cook. Maybe not all of the meals, but breakfast she could do for sure. She was used to cooking as she had made pretty much everything the past three years unless they found an Inn to stay at. Or conned some rich idiot that their home was haunted. Nobody else could cook worth a damn in their group. Everything Inuyasha tried to make always ended up tasting wrong in general. Miroku burned everything he touched. The food that Sango made always looked like it would eat them first. Shippo was too young to make anything other than grilled fish. Kikyo was a decent cook, but by the time she joined the group, Kagome was just used to cooking. She was glad about Kikyo joining the group now more than ever, at least everyone wouldn't starve now that she was gone.

Staying in her pajamas Kagome made her way to the kitchen. As she looked around she frowned in concern, Minato didn't have much. She was hoping that was because he just got back from a longer mission and not being his normal situation. If he was a person that went out to eat all the time, that was going to have to change. That wasn't healthy for anyone and if he was going to be looking after her, well that was a two-way road. She would make sure he was taking care of himself as well. Digging around a bit she found eggs and some bread, both looked to still be good yet. So, until they could do some grocery shopping, scrambled eggs and toast would have to do. To her internal annoyment she was a bit too short to comfortably reach the top of the stove, so she moved a kitchen chair in front of it to stand on. Humming lightly to herself she started cooking breakfast.

Minato woke up to the smell of cooking food and coffee. Confusion filled him before he remembered Kagome. He was so used to waking up alone lately that he had forgotten about his new household member. Then it dawned on him, why in the world was Kagome up and making breakfast? Minato hopped out of bed and made his way toward the kitchen. When he got to the kitchen doorway he saw Kagome standing on a kitchen chair, humming, making scrambled eggs.

An amused smile overtook his face, "So, what'cha doing?" Kagome let out a screech of surprise and nearly fell off of the chair. Minato dashed forward and caught her before she got hurt. She sent him a pouty glare and he chuckled, "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

"You're a jerk." She pouted at him as he set her on the ground. She crossed her arms briefly, "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm making breakfast." She uncrossed her arms and started climbing onto the chair again. The eggs were nearly done now. The coffee she had found had just finished and all she had to do was butter the toast.

"You really don't have to do that you know. I should be making you breakfast, not the other way around." Minato said with an odd look on his face.

Kagome shrugged as she pulled the eggs off of the heat and turned off the burner, "I don't mind. I used to make food a lot for my group of friends, it was my job for the group." Well one of them anyway.

Minato pursed his lips, fighting the urge to fight her train of thought. She was too young to be having to do that stuff. Honestly, she couldn't even properly reach the stovetop. He shook this off, for now, this was a battle for another time. She was going to be mad at him enough by the end of the day, he didn't need this potential argument as well. He watched her butter the toast as she finished off the plates, "Well, thank you."

She beamed a smile at him, "No problem. I like helping."

Minato nodded in thought, so she liked to keep busy, "How about right after breakfast we paint your room?"

Kagome took a bite before nodding, "Sure, that works for me. After that could we do some grocery shopping? You have like nothing in the house." She said with an accusing stare.

Minato laughed awkwardly, "Sorry, I usually don't try to keep much pre-stocked. Missions can come out of nowhere and I don't want food to go to waste. I'll try to keep more food in the house now. Grocery shopping won't be a problem. I probably should have gone yesterday before I picked you up." He felt like he was being lectured by his mother or something.

"Or, we could have gone yesterday while you tried to get me to buy things. It would have been a better use of our time." Kagome said haughtily.

Minato burst out laughing, oh yeah she was still angry about that. She was going to be pissed at him for sure by the end of the night then, especially for what he has planned.


	4. Chapter 4

A few hours later they had cleaned up breakfast and finished painting Kagome's new room, it was now a nice shade of green. They were now heading out into town to do the promised grocery shopping. Kagome side-eyed Minato briefly, he had been acting shifty all morning. She could tell he had something planned, but she had no idea what it could be. She didn't know him nearly long enough to know any of his tells. She had only met him yesterday afternoon. She was keeping her concerns on the down-low for the moment though. Right now, she was focusing on learning what was where. She needed to get to a point where she wasn't constantly lost. At the very least she needed to know how to get back to Minato's house. She didn't think of it of her house, not yet at least. They had been walking around for about twenty minutes, not buying anything quite yet. Minato was just pointing out where things were to her. Suddenly, something caught her eye. A smile split her face and she jogged away from Minato without even thinking.

"Inoichi-san!" Kagome greeted happily as she hugged him. She considered Inoichi her first friend in this world. They had gotten along really well when he came to visit her at the hospital.

Inoichi laughed and patted her head happily, "Well, hello Kagome-chan. It's nice to see you out of the hospital. Where is your guardian though, you're supposed to be with someone, remember?" He knew that this part was going to be hard for her, she was used to being pretty independent. She was used to looking after people, not being looked after.

A blush flushed across her face as she looked around, she had forgotten that she needed to stick close to him. When she saw the head of bright blond hair, she pointed at him, "Oh, he's over there. I honestly thought he would have noticed me walking away from him. Situational awareness and all that." Kagome deadpanned. Weren't ninjas supposed to notice everything around them?

Inoichi chuckled in amusement as he watched Minato look around frantically for his missing charge, "Don't hold it against him, he's not used to having to consciously keep track of someone. So, you got put with Minato huh?" he asked as he started leading Kagome back to her new guardian.

"You know him?" Kagome asked as she followed Inoichi back towards Minato, "In your opinion, what is he like?"

Inoichi looked down at Kagome seriously, she was pretty much asking if the person she got settled with was a good person. That was easy enough to answer at least, "He's pretty much an all-around good guy. He tries to help people out as much as he can. His moral compass is about as good as yours is. He can have a bit of a playful streak; he was quite the prankster when he was in school." A devious smirk crossed his lips as he remembered some of Kagome's memories, "He also has a huge crush on a certain red-head beauty."

Self-proclaimed matchmaker Kagome smiled deviously as well, oh yeah her and Inoichi were going to get along just fine, "Is that so? Who is this mystery lady?"

"Her name is Kushina Uzumaki. She's a loudmouth with a fiery temper. She can be a bit scary at times, but other than that she's usually pretty nice. He's had a crush on her for years, but she's being pretty stubborn about it. Not that she hates his attention, he isn't pushing himself on her. I just don't think she realizes he's completely serious about his feelings. Perhaps she needs a push from Minato's new adorable little sister."

Kagome blushed and scowled at the same time, "We aren't siblings, we literally just met yesterday."

"Yeah, and how quickly did you mentally add your feudal friends into your family? A couple of weeks after you met them? I give you by the end of the month before you start calling Minato Nii-san." He teased. To most it would probably seem like he was being mean to a kid ten years younger than him, however knowing Kagome has the mindset of an eighteen-year-old he didn't bother holding anything back.

Kagome punched him playfully, but still kinda meaning it, "You suck."

Inoichi laughed as they finally caught up with the nearly frantic blond, "You've seemed to have lost something Minato."

Minato spun around to see an amused looking Inoichi and slightly sulky Kagome. Minato let out a sigh of relief, he grabbed her shoulders with a serious look on his face, "You have to stick with me Kagome-chan, or at the very least let me know you're going somewhere. You scared me."

"Sorry, Minato-san. I saw Inoichi-san and wanted to say hi." Kagome mumbled looking down at the ground. It was weird being scolded. Usually, she was the one doing the scolding, mostly to Inuyasha if she was being honest.

Minato looked between the two with a calculating look on his face, "You two know each other?"

Kagome nodded eagerly, "Yeah, Inoichi-san was the one to do my mind walk so I could stay here. He continued to visit me after that. Talking to him is really fun. He has so many interesting things to say." Kagome said trying to amplify her childish tone, then her smile got a darker hint to it, "Especially about my new guardian, and a certain red-head."

A blush brightened his cheeks as his eyes grew wide, "Inoichi!"

Inoichi whistled innocently, "I have no idea what she's talking about."

Minato still looked slightly flustered but an idea flourished in his mind, "Oh, hey! Actually, you have pretty good timing Inoichi. I have a few errands that I need to get done. I should have got them done yesterday before I picked up Kagome-chan, but I was a bit eager to actually get her home. It'll be pretty boring, so do you think you could watch her for a few hours?" he looked at his watch, it was almost ten o'clock, "If you could bring her back home around two, that should give me plenty of time to finish everything up."

Kagome glared at him; he was trying to get rid of her already? Wasn't he supposed to be responsible? She crossed her arms irritably, "What about grocery shopping?"

Minato rubbed the back of his head with one arm while digging out his wallet with the other, this kid's glare was scary. Almost as scary as Kushina's, "Inoichi can show you some of the grocery stores around here before he brings you back home. Thanks, Inoichi." Minato shouted before tossing his wallet at Kagome and disappearing in a burst of leaves.

Kagome deadpanned, "Really?"

Inoichi was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Well, I guess I'm watching you now."

Kagome sighed, "If it wasn't mandatory that someone keeps an eye on me, I would say don't worry about it. But, since I've pretty much just started my probation, sorry about this. I hope I won't ruin any plans you might have had. If you had something planned, I can just tag along and be a silent shadow or something."

Inoichi shook his head, "No, it's fine, really. I was just planning on visiting one of my team members today. Our team hasn't been sent on a mission together recently and I want to make sure he hasn't lazy'd himself to death."

"Lazy'd?" Kagome asked amused, following Inoichi through the crowd.

"Yeah, Shikaku can be insanely lazy. If he could get away with just laying down on the couch all day and do nothing, he'd definitely do it."

"How did someone like that manage to become a ninja?" Kagome asked curiously. Did they just let anyone with enough chakra become a ninja?

"Almost all of the Nara's have a lazy streak to them. Most Nara's have above average intelligence so their brains are always working overtime. Downtime helps rest their brains, but some take it to the extreme. Like Shikaku." Inoichi explained.

Kagome nodded in understanding, that made more sense at least. Then her brain turned curious remembering something she had read in one of the books, "So, teams in Konoha consist of three men squads, Right?"

"Yup."

"So, who's your other team member?" she asked, wanting to learn more about her new friend.

"Choza Akimichi, he's a very loyal man with a big heart and even larger stomach. Both Shikaku and Choza are my best friends, have been since we were little. Most teams tend to break up somewhat once all the members reach chunin level. We still try to go out on team missions as much as possible. Our families have always been close. Our team is the fifteenth generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho formation."

Kagome frowned slightly as confusion filled her, "Ino-Shika-Cho? You named it after your first names? So, does that mean the Yamanaka's will always have a kid with Ino in the name and so on?"

Inoichi looked flustered for a moment but didn't get a chance to answer as other things popped up in Kagome's mind.

"Wait, wait, wait… do your families like, try and have kids around the same time then? So, they can be on the same team together? What if the kids don't even like each other? What if one of the clans fail to have a kid at the same time as the other two? How does Ino-Shika-Cho even work?" Kagome shot off question after question.

Inoichi stopped in the middle of the street as he watched in morbid fascination at all the questions leaking from Kagome. Honestly, he didn't really know how to answer most of those. In the end, he just shrugged, "I guess we just always happen to have kids within the same year. It's not like it's planned or anything, or at least I don't think it is. Purely coincidence. The kids of the head families of our clans have always been put on a team together, it's just tradition by this point. Our family jutsu's just work really well together."

Kagome shook her head, trying to forget all the unanswered questions. The whole Ino-Shika-Cho thing seemed a bit sketchy, but whatever. Time to move onto a different topic, "So, um… Shikaku-san won't mind a seven-year-old tagging along with you?"

"Naw, Shikaku is pretty cool about everything. I've told him about my visits with you and I think I've piqued his curiosity." He saw her questioning gaze and quickly clarified, "Don't worry I didn't tell him anything about your past, nothing past the cover story anyway. Though he probably saw past that with how smart he is. He hasn't called me out on it yet at least. Though if you did want someone else in the village to know, just so you'd have another person you didn't have to hide yourself with, Shikaku would be a very good choice. He doesn't judge someone at first glance, he takes time to form his own opinion of them. He can also keep a secret better than anyone else I know."

Kagome hummed in thought, "I'll think about it. Obviously, I want to meet him first. But if you trust him then I'll consider it." They walked in silence for a bit before an idea popped in her head, "Hey Inoichi-san do you think I could try something when we get to your friend's house?"

"What do you want to try?" Inoichi asked.

"I was able to see my chakra pool last night, but I have nothing to compare mine to. So, I have no idea if my pool is large or small. I'm pretty sure I would have enough to make jutsu's but on the other hand, I have no idea, and I don't know any jutsu to even try with. If you're okay with it, I'd like to check your chakra pool and compare it to mine. I know a chakra pool probably grows with age, but I'd at least have something else to compare it to." Kagome asked.

Inoichi thought for a moment, "What would I have to do, and what would you do?"

"Nothing much, you would just have to sit still. I'd push my Ki into you a bit so I'd be able to see your chakra system, you won't feel it at all. It's an advanced technique evolved from being able to see auras. Kikyo taught me how to do that." Kagome explained. Kikyo was best at the soul part of being a Miko, seeing auras and manipulating her energy. Kagome, on the other hand, leaned more naturally towards healing. Towards the end, they were coaching each other on their respective talents.

Inoichi shrugged, "Sure, I don't mind. How are you going to explain to Shikaku what you're doing, if you don't plan on telling him the truth? Not everybody can simply see the chakra system. The Hyuga clan and that is only because of their kekkei-genkai."

"Well, I have to make up something for my Ki anyway. Why not say it's one of those kekkei-genkai things? I don't have a fancy name for it or anything yet, but it would seem believable enough."

"Hmm. That could work. You would have to think of a name for it though. All kekkei-genkai have names."

"I'll think about it. Maybe your friend could think of something good for it. You said he's really smart right. Maybe he could think of something that would fit for it." Kagome propositioned.

"You would have to explain everything your supposed kekkei-genkai would be able to do," Inoichi said.

"That's not a problem. Even if I don't decide to tell your friend the truth, I can tell him everything I can do with my Ki and pass it off as a kekkei-genkai I didn't know I had until I got here and learned what a kekkei-genkai was." She put an innocent look on her face, "In my village, there were just some people who could do things others couldn't. We didn't know what it was, but it didn't really bother us much."

Inoichi laughed, "How is it sometimes you are a masterful liar and other times one look at your face and it's obvious that your lying?"

Kagome shrugged, "I don't know. I don't particularly like lying so I try to do it as little as possible. I've seen way too many things escalate way more than they should have just because someone was keeping something from someone else. I hated lying to my friends in Tokyo, but it wasn't like they would believe me even if I told them the truth. They'd have just thought I had gone crazy, or it was a side effect of one of the crazy illnesses my grandfather gave me."

Inoichi chuckled, "Yeah, those were funny."

"They were not!" Kagome shouted, "They were so embarrassing, especially when Hojo would bring those stupid gift baskets."

"Pretty sure your grandfather simply gave symptoms he had to get free product."

"Yeah, he would've made Miroku proud." Kagome chuckled thinking of her con-artist friend.

Inoichi sighed, "Anyway, let's get your grocery shopping out of the way. We can store anything perishable in Shikaku's fridge. I can show you the shops that usually have pretty good deals." Kagome nodded in agreement.

Nearly the next hour was spent with Inoichi showing Kagome a few of the best shops to get the cheapest and best quality product. Kagome bought everything that she thought they would need for the house for the next week or so. She had made a personal pact not to spend much of Minato's money for herself; however, he had ticked her off. How dare he ditch her on someone else the first full day he has her. So, if she spent a bit more on groceries than needed who was she to say. She was only seven and wasn't the best at rationing money after all. That's what he gets for leaving her with his wallet.

Inoichi watched warily as Kagome's eyes glinted angrily as she shoved some more stuff she didn't really need into the grocery basket. Minato better have a really good excuse, because he had pushed one of Kagome's buttons to really set her off. Minato was going to have to learn to be a suck-up to his new little sister because if he didn't, he was going to have a hard time in the near future.

By the time they made it through the Nara district and to Shikaku's house Inoichi was exhausted. He was weighed down with so many bags that his arms felt like they were about to break off. Kagome had bought enough food to feed an army, though he knew that she wouldn't let any of it go to waste. Since neither of them had a free hand to knock Inoichi kicked at Shikaku's door and kept at it so he wouldn't simply ignore it. After about a minute of no answer, Inoichi rolled his eyes.

"Shikaku get off your lazy ass and open up the door, I want to put these bags down already," Inoichi shouted out.

From within he heard his friend's muttered, "Ugh, how troublesome." Though finally the door was finally opened. Shikaku's eyebrow rose slightly as he caught sight of the short kid slightly behind the blond. He immediately made the correct connection; this was the kid from the hospital that had caught his friend's attention.

"Why are you making so much noise?" Shikaku drawled.

"Ugh, just let us past. Kagome-chan went overtime on the grocery shopping. We need to commandeer your fridge for a few hours before I'm supposed to bring her home. Thanks." He said breezing past Shikaku towards where he knew the kitchen was.

Kagome bowed politely, "Sorry for the intrusion."

Shikaku lazily waved a hand at the overly polite child, "Naw don't worry about it." He grabbed a couple of bags from her to lighten her load. She looked like she was buckling under the weight.

"Ah, thank you," Kagome said surprised. She didn't think he would have taken any bags from her, not with how lazy Inoichi claimed he was.

Shikaku hummed in acknowledgment as he led the kid to his kitchen. He didn't know what the two were doing here, or how Inoichi came to being in charge of her, but it didn't really matter to him. If they wanted him to know they would tell him or he could figure it out piece by piece by context clues. Inoichi was good at keeping things to himself, but they have been friends forever and because of that he could be easy to read at times.

"So, what's with all the groceries?" Shikaku asked as he placed the bags on his table.

"My guardian, Minato-san, had nothing in the house and was about to take me grocery shopping when he dumped me on Inoichi-san. I didn't know what Minato-san liked so I got a bit of everything." She said innocently, but the fire in her eyes said differently.

Shikaku shared a look with Inoichi, that didn't sound like something Minato would do. But the casual shrug Inoichi gave said the kid wasn't lying. So, what was Minato planning that he needed to do away from his new charge? Also, it was interesting the Hokage decided to put the mystery kid with Minato Namikaze. Very interesting choice.

They spent the next few minutes rearranging Shikaku's sparse fridge, which Kagome had frowned at and immediately made the decision to 'accidentally' leave some of her newly boughten food here. Then Inoichi grabbed Kagome's hand and dragged her towards the living room, "We can do your test in here Kagome-chan."

"Test? What test?" Shikaku asked slowly following behind the two.

"Kagome-chan has a kekkei genkai and she has been trying out the things she can do with it," Inoichi said.

"In my village, there were a few people who could do the same things I could, some were better at some things than others but we were all able to do the same basic things. We were able to create barriers, see auras, heal people, and purify curses. The thing is we didn't know about was kekkei genkai's or chakra really. We called chakra, Ki, and people who had the kekkei genkai were called priestesses or monks. So, after I got here and learned about everything, I used my aura reading ability to look within myself to search for my own chakra. I was eventually able to find it, but I would like to see someone else's so I can compare it to my own." Kagome explained to him.

"Ya don't mind if I watch do you?" Shikaku asked carefully.

"Not at all," Kagome reassured him as quickly as she could. She knew he was just worried about her hurting his friend, either on purpose or not.

Shikaku plopped himself down across the couch while Inoichi and Kagome sat across from each other on the floor.

It took her a few minutes but she was finally able to focus enough on Inoichi's energy to start following his chakra system. She was right about it getting larger due to age, even the veins of chakra were larger than her own. She carefully followed them down to finally see his chakra pool. Inoichi's was definitely larger than her own… but not as much as she thought it was going to be. She studied it a bit longer before she started pulling out, her mind whirling. Was the size of a person's soul somehow related to the amount of chakra they could produce? Was that why she almost had the same sized pool as a person ten years older than herself? Or, was it because she used to be eighteen years old?

She would have to think about this more later, but at least she knew that she had plenty of chakra to create jutsu. She could become a kunoichi. She wasn't really sure why she was so determined to be able to become a kunoichi, other than she was used to a life of adventure and fighting. Just pretending to be a kid again and starting her life over sounded… wrong. She liked protecting people, fighting for what is right. Just becoming a civilian again almost seemed like she was throwing away all of her trials in the feudal era, and she refused to do that. She would not become a useless damsel in distress ever again. She was sure that she would find people she would want to protect once again. She wanted to become strong enough to protect those future people. Plus, if she ever did get the chance to go back to her family, then, she would be even more capable of holding her own.

Shikaku watched carefully as the two sat down on the ground across for each other. For a few minutes, nothing happened, but then a faint pink glow started forming around the kid. That lasted a few more minutes before the glow disappeared and both the kid and Inoichi opened their eyes. He watched Inoichi smile at the kid.

"Did you find what you were looking for Kagome-chan?" Inoichi asked curiously.

"Yeah, it gave me more to think about though. Thanks for letting me look Inoichi-san." Kagome said slowly.

Inoichi frowned slightly at Kagome's serious face before an idea blossomed in his mind. He clapped his hands excitedly, "Let's do something fun. Kagome's been stuck inside just reading since she got here, so let's do something."

Kagome's eyes brightened, "Really?"

Shikaku looked at the two of them and sighed, "Sorry, I'll have to rain check on this. I'm on feeding duty this week. I should probably head out now actually."

"Feeding duty?" Kagome asked curiously.

"The Nara clan takes care of a herd of deer. We feed them daily and brush them weekly." Shikaku explained as he slowly stood up.

"Deer?" Kagome asked excitedly, she loved animals.

An idea popped in Inoichi's mind, "Why don't we join you? Kagome-chan loves nature and animals, and you'll get a few extra hands to help you out on your chores. Right Kagome-chan?"

"Definitely! Can we please go see the deer?"

Shikaku hesitated for a moment, "I don't know… usually, I don't mind, but the fawns were born just a few weeks ago and they are still a bit aggressively protective."

Kagome nodded in understanding, "I won't go close to them if they don't let me. It'll still be cool just to watch them. Really." She had traveled with a herd of deer demons for a little over a week once after she got separated from her group. Again. She had learned a lot about deer and how they think in that week. She knew better than to approach any kind of animal, especially ones with babies when they did not want you around. However, if you were patient and calm you could usually get pretty close. Plus, she had learned if she expanded her aura to envelope them slightly, they would get the hint that she meant them no harm. "Please?" she asked again hopefully.

Shikaku sighed in defeat, "Fine, but if I say leave you leave. Got it?"

Kagome nodded quickly, "Got it!"

Inoichi jumped up and hooked an arm through each of theirs, "This is going to be fun. Let's go, to the deer." He cheered as he started leading them to where he knew the herd would be.


	5. Chapter 5

Inoichi dragged them through a brunch of houses and to a partially fenced off area of the woods. There was a medium-sized shed that was locked up that Shikaku approached. He pulled a key out of a pouch attached to his leg, unlocked it and disappeared inside. She heard him rummaging around inside of it before he started to address her directly.

"For now, Kagome-chan I want you to stay behind the fences. Once I start filling the bins the herd will start making their way over. Until we are sure the deer are okay with you, I want to make sure that you'll be safe."

Kagome pouted slightly but nodded in understanding, "Alright Shikaku-san, I promise." Shikaku nodded back to her and she watched him start to fill the few food bins. Shikaku and Inoichi started talking between themselves, unconsciously paying less attention to Kagome herself.

Kagome turned her attention to the deer that were slowly starting to show up in the small clearing. She cooed as she saw the fawns staggering after their mothers. They were so young yet that they still had a bit of trouble walking. The fact that the fawns were here said a lot about the Nara's. The deer felt safe enough to bring their young along. Most left their young in a single spot until they were steady enough on their feet. When she saw the dominant buck exit the tree line, a mischievous smirk appeared on her face. That single buck was her barrier between her cuddling with the baby deer. Well, it looks like it was time to cheat a little. Unknown and unnoticed to the two people supposed to be watching her, she expanded her aura just a tad to get the attention of the leader of the herd.

She smiled slightly when she saw the deer turned his attention to her, it was working. She made sure her aura didn't have any hostility in it at all. As the buck left his sentinel position and started making his way over to her, she glanced at the two older boys. They weren't even glancing in her direction, perfect. They were busy filling the last bin with the oats and cut-up apples. Good, they wouldn't notice until it was too late. Kagome climbed over the fence as quickly and quietly as she could.

The buck leaned down and sniffed her slightly, before slightly nuzzling her face and giving her a small lick on the cheek. He then started corralling her towards the rest of the herd. A huge grin split her face as soon as she got into the middle of the herd. She plopped herself onto the ground and started petting and cuddling the fawns. She let out a few quiet giggles as the adult females started licking her face and arms, their tongues tickling her. Kagome didn't care about anything else at that moment besides being lavished in attention by the deer.

It took a few minutes before either Inoichi or Shikaku noticed that something was wrong. Shikaku frowned in confusion, "Why aren't they coming to get their food?"

Inoichi shrugged as he glanced over to where they had left Kagome and his eyes went wide in a slight panic, "Where is Kagome-chan?"

Shikaku quickly glanced around before his eyes caught sight of the kid's pink shirt in the middle of the herd of deer, "Uh… just who is this kid Inoichi?" he asked in a slightly shocked tone. Honestly, how did she even get over there?

"What do you mea…" he stopped when he followed Shikaku's gaze. He broke out in laughter as he saw Kagome currently being licked to death by the herd that usually didn't like outsiders, "Oh yeah, Kagome-chan's a special one. That's for sure."

Kagome looked up when she heard her name and sent a large smile towards the two boys, "They like me!" she giggled out as she hugged a fawn closer to her.

Inoichi sighed in fondness, "Why don't you bring them over here so they can eat Kagome-chan." Shikaku glanced at his friend out of the corner of his eye. How was he so fond of the kid already?

"Kay." She sang out as she got up. The dominant buck followed close behind her, butting her shoulder lightly with his head. Like he was asking her where she was going. Kagome giggled again as she petted his neck softly, "Come on mister deer, I'm sure you guys are hungry." She led them to the food bins and they finally took their attention off of her and started eating. Since the fawns were still too young to eat anything other than milk they lingered around Kagome, basking in her attention.

Shikaku was speechless, he had never, NEVER, seen the herd take to someone like that before. The dominant buck was even asking for her attention. The mothers were completely fine with Kagome petting their young as they ate. Trusting Kagome to watch over them. They had been nearly aggressive with the normal Nara's who had been watching over the herd for years who was this kid?

They stayed with the deer for another hour or so, since they didn't really have anything else to do. In the end, Shikaku had ended up having to rescue Kagome from the herd because they started trying to take her with them back into the woods. Kagome giggled happily from her position on Shikaku's back as they made their way back to his house. She had jumped onto his back when he rescued her from the herd and just hadn't seen a reason to get off.

"That was fun." Kagome grinned.

As they made it back to Shikaku's house they ended up just sitting outside on his porch. They didn't do much other than talk until it was time to head back to Minato's. A while later they re-packed her groceries Kagome leaving a few of the least perishable groceries behind for Shikaku.

She liked Shikaku, but she wanted to get to know him a bit more before she decided to tell him the truth or not. She was interested in making him her friend, however. She paused in both thought and walking after Inoichi, she needed to find more people her current age So far, she had only met people fifteen years old or older. While she was totally fine having older friends, most would probably think it weird. She shook her head and started after Inoichi once again. That was a problem for a later time. As Inoichi and herself walked back towards Minato's house they talked a bit more about ninja and kunoichi in general. Kagome was excited for when she could start trying to take it easy for the next month, so she probably shouldn't try anything until after that.

As Inoichi walked Kagome through the Namikaze district he didn't hide the fact he was looking around. He hadn't been in the Namikaze district since before Minato's dad died. Not a lot visually had changed, Minato still paid genin squads to clean and keep up the other houses just like his dad had done. However, the mood of the clan district was completely different. This place used to be full of life and excitement, even when it was just Minato and his dad. The district just seemed dead now. Kagome would definitely be good for this place. She wouldn't let an obviously loved place like this stay so sad. She had done wonders for Sango's old village in their sparse free time. Easily remembering which house was Minato's he directed them through the homes.

Inoichi ran into the same problem as at Shikaku's house of not having a free hand to knock. So, he kicked lightly at the door hoping that Minato would hear them.

Minato opened the door with an excited yet nervous smile. He really hoped that Kagome liked what he had done. He knew she would be mad, but he hoped she would get over it quickly. When he saw how laden down, they both were with bags his eyes went wide. He quickly made a few shadow clones and directed them to grab all of the bags from both of them and put them away.

"Thank you for watching her on such short notice. It shouldn't happen again." Minato said earnestly.

Inoichi smiled at him, "Oh, it was no problem. I don't mind at all. Anytime you need a babysitter and I'm not on a mission don't hesitate to ask."

Kagome elbowed his sharply and eyed him with a baby glare, "I am not a baby and do not need to be watched."

Inoichi chuckled, "Whatever you say Kagome-chan." He ruffled her hair briefly before starting to walk away with a wave, ignoring Kagome's squawk of protest, "I should get going, see you two later."

Kagome waved goodbye to her friend before turning to Minato. She watched him carefully, his aura was all over the place. Jumping from anxious, to excitement, to nervousness, only to repeat the cycle. He was definitely up to something. Inuyasha's aura would do something similar when he did something, he wasn't sure she would agree with. They just stood there staring at each other for a bit before Minato took the lead.

He cleared his throat nervously, "Uh, Kagome-chan… there is something I want to show you. Follow me, please."

Kagome followed after Minato apprehensively, the feeling only grew when the closer they got to her room. The closer they got the more she narrowed her eyes. He better have not done what she was beginning to suspect. When he stopped right outside of her closed bedroom door, a door she clearly remembered keeping open to let the paint smell dissipate, she turned a full-powered glare at her new guardian. Minato turned and looked down at Kagome and had to hide the slight flinch; her glare was a scary thing, especially for someone so young. It was then that he knew that she knew what he had done, and she was already not happy about it. He simply gestured to her room, too nervous to actually speak.

Kagome slowly opened the door, praying that everything was as they had left it before leaving the house. It was not. Almost every single thing had been replaced, it didn't even look like the same room anymore. Her carpet was now a light crème and all of the furniture had been replaced with newer things, most of them a lighter wood color. If she had to guess just by looking at them, she would say they were made out of maple wood, but she wasn't an expert or anything. The small bookcase they had gotten the previous day was being used as a bedside table and had a few random trinkets on the shelves, along with a clock and table lamp. There was a tall bookcase in the corner of her room with about a dozen or so books starting a collection on the sparse shelves. She glanced at her closet and saw it was slightly fuller than it had been this morning, which meant he had boughten her even more clothes. She noticed a few things that had caught her eye yesterday in the markets but had breezed past simply because she didn't need them. There were a few small plants scattered across the room as well. The room was gorgeous now, it wasn't far off from what she had planned for it in the long run. However…

Kagome seethed. She was furious; completely, absolutely, utterly furious. Which kinda sucked since her day had been going rather well. Sure, she had started kinda ticked at Minato for ditching her but she had mostly gotten over that once she got to Shikaku's house.

"I didn't ask of any of this." She managed to grit out, desperately trying not to lose her temper. Honestly how much did all of this cost? How long would it take to pay him back for it?

"I know you didn't, and that right there is the reason that you deserve it so much. You are such a sweet kid, I can tell even from the little time I've spent with you. You've just lost everything and you've been keeping up such a brave front. You deserve something that is just yours, even if it's just a room." Minato said with honest sincerity in his voice. To tell the truth he had wanted to do more but had held himself back.

Kagome's mind went into overdrive, maybe she could retaliate somehow. Maybe move into a different room, or just move everything out of her room. She didn't need any of this stuff, the things that had been in the room before would have been just fine. So why did he go against her clear wishes? She didn't really know why she was so against him getting her things. Normally she wouldn't really mind one way or another. Her group of friends would get stuff for each other all of the time. Maybe it was because she didn't have the ability to do it for herself at the moment. She was now too young to do much. It was beyond annoying and it was starting to irritate her. She was too short to reach things that would've easily been within her reach before, nobody took her seriously, and everyone was underestimating her. All because she was seven years old again. Rationally she knew she was just taking out her frustration on Minato, but her mind wasn't really thinking rationally right now. Her mind had the emotional capacity of a normal seven-year-old. Which made her angry as well. She felt tears start welling up in her eyes, tears of frustration.

"You're such a jerk." Kagome cried out before spinning around and marching back towards the living room. She knew she couldn't leave the house without Minato, and her room was out of the question for the moment so, for now, she would have to go to the living room to sulk. She would try to calm down by herself, get her temper under control, hopefully, Minato would get the hint and leave her alone for a while. She knew she had a bit of a temper, but she didn't remember her temper being quite this bad when she was younger. So, she probably had the same temper as her eighteen-year-old self but with no ability to emotionally control it. Great.

Minato sighed as he watched her march off, little girls were difficult. He focused on her chakra signature to make sure she wasn't going to leave the house and was glad she had enough foresight to remember her restrictions. He felt her settle into his living room and gave a little nod of agreement, that was a good place to camp out for a while. He could easily avoid that area of his house for a bit while she ran herself through her temper tantrum. Honestly, why was she so angry about it. He had been expecting her to be a little mad, but not that full blown-out anger. He always saw kids out on the street begging their parents for everything and anything. So why did he end up taking in the one kid that hated getting something?

He wasn't going to undo all of his hard work though, he firmly believed she deserved a good room to call her own. Somewhere she can go to feel safe or settle down in after a long day. She would simply have to get used to it. This was something that he was going to be holding his ground firmly on. For now, he would give her some space and time to cool off. He had a good amount of practice with hot-headed ladies dealing with Kushina. With a soft sigh he grabbed a few scrolls to read through, he was in the middle of working on a new jutsu. While Kagome was cooling down, he would have plenty of time to get a jump start on his project. He had a lot of details to iron out on it yet.

The rest of the day passed pretty quickly. Minato made a small supper that they spent intense silence. Kagome chewed her food like it had personally offended her and Minato had watched her warily, half expecting her to bite herself accidentally in her anger. Kagome had only left her spot in the living room to eat and the moment she was done she went right back to her spot and continued trying to calm down. She just couldn't shake the anger and that in itself was frustrating her which only made it worse.

Minato let out a long yawn as he stretched his muscles. He glanced at the clock on the wall and his eyes went wide, it was way past midnight! How had time passed so quickly? How in the world had it gotten so late? He stood up and made his way into the living room to check on his charge as he still felt her chakra signature from within. He peered in and a small frown appeared on his face. Kagome was sound asleep on the couch. She had at some point changed into her pajamas, so her falling asleep on the couch was a conscious decision. Was she trying to get back at him by simply not sleeping in the room at all? He sighed in frustration as he made his way to her room. In there he grabbed one of the new blankets he had gotten her off the foot of her bed, and the stuffed rabbit after a second thought. He walked back to the living room and gently put the rabbit next to her before covering her up. He watched her almost immediately snuggle into the rabbit. That made a small smile appear at the sheer cuteness she radiated, but it quickly disappeared.

He rubbed a hand through his hair as he made his way to his room. He really knew nothing about his ward, that would have to change as soon as possible. Once she got done being mad at him, they would have to sit down and get to know each other. She knew as much about him as he knew about her. Perhaps if he had waited to renovate her bedroom until he knew more about her then she wouldn't currently be sleeping on the couch. He had just been so excited to do something for her. He threw himself onto his bed with a groan. Did he screw something up permanently? Ugh, how was he supposed to know? He never had any siblings, and he had managed to avoid most of the babysitting D-rank jobs as a genin. He really didn't know much about kids. Tomorrow. He would try to make this better tomorrow.

Kagome woke up with the sun like normal, slowly and slightly confused about her whereabouts. It took her a moment to remember that she had chosen to sleep on the couch last night. when she had gotten tired enough to fall asleep, she had run into a slight problem. She didn't want to sleep in the room that was the main cause of her anger and frustration. Not yet at least. While she wasn't as mad as she had been originally, she didn't want to accept the room quite yet. She had thought thigs through during her sulking. If she just moved into a different room Minato could easily transfer all the stuff into any room she chose. Especially with the clones, he could apparently make. She had been impressed with that and couldn't wait to see if she could do that herself. If she were to move the things out of her room when Minato wasn't looking, he would just move them back in. So, if her room wasn't an option, and picking a different room wasn't either, her only good option would be a neutral place he couldn't change into a bedroom for her. Like the living room.

She had peaked into the kitchen at Minato only to see him completely engrossed in some scrolls spread across the table. He had such a deep look of concentration on his face that she decided to leave him alone. She didn't want to bother him. She made her way into her room just to change into her pajamas, of which she had plenty to choose from now. Sleeping on the couch wouldn't be too bad. It was a pretty comfortable couch and she was used to sleeping on the ground in a sleeping bag. Compared to that anything would seem magically comfortable.

What she didn't remember having as she fell asleep last night was the blanket and stuffed animal. A small frown tugged at her lips; Minato must have tucked her in before he went to bed last night. That was very nice of him, especially with how mean she had been to him yesterday. Speaking of yesterday, her anger has calmed down significantly. She really wasn't sure what had set her off so badly, she knew he was just trying to be nice. Trying to help her, which she did appreciate. Her brain was at war with itself. On one hand, rationally, she knew there was nothing to be angry about and she just say thank you and just be done with it. On the other hand, her emotions were fluctuating so much she almost couldn't keep up with them, but they mostly wanted to settle on frustration. Either with Minato or her own situation, she wasn't sure.

With a quiet sigh, she gathered up the blanket and bunny before heading towards her room. She needed to get dressed for the day, then maybe she would make breakfast again. Step one in her _I'm sorry I'm an emotional child who is acting like a little brat _peace treaty. She got dressed in a simple, light blue, play kimono with a pair of gray shorts underneath. She folded up the blanket as best as she could with it being so much bigger than her and placed it on the corner of her bed and then placed the bunny next to the stuffed puppy by her pillows.

She exited her room and peeked into Minato's room, who had left his door left about half-open. He was sprawled across his bed, snoring slightly. She giggled softly as to not wake him up before heading down the hall. As she entered the kitchen, she mentally went through all of the ingredients she had picked up yesterday. With a nod to herself, she pulled the kitchen chair in front of the counter next to the stove and started preparing a more traditional breakfast. She started thinking things over as she prepared the meal on autopilot. Minato was only fifteen, the age she had started her adventure. While he was probably more mature with being a shinobi and all, he was still a kid himself. He probably just wanted to do something as a gesture of kindness. An offering of friendship, and what did she do but shove it back at him in a terrible way. She sucked. She really needed to get a handle on her new emotional state as soon as possible. She had always had a bit of a temper, but it usually wasn't this bad. At least not to anyone that wasn't Inuyasha. He always seemed to know exactly which buttons to pick to push her patience over the edge. Perhaps it had just been a bit too much for her at once. She had gone from an independent teenager to a useless child practically overnight. Having to depend on someone else was going to be a challenge for her, or at least to this extreme extent. Sure, she had depended on her friends in the past. But that had been more mutual dependency, they all helped look out for each other.

Kagome knew she was going to lose this battle. That she would eventually give in to the new room and accept it. Accepting the room, however, in her mind was equivalent to accepting that she was no longer the one that took care of herself. Accepting the room, and everything else attached to it, meant that Minato would truly be in charge of her. And that truly scared her. She hadn't been that dependent on someone else since she was fifteen before she fell into the well and the few months afterword. After a few months of being a stupid damsel in distress and being kidnapped countless times Kagome had had enough and started changing herself. To stop being a completely useless idiot who depended on Inuyasha for absolutely everything. It was then she had decided to change herself for the better, and never look back to her old self. Accepting her fate in this new world was like going back on everything she worked hard for, her well-fought independence. It was going to be a hard pill to swallow, but she knew she would have to eventually. The sooner the better or it would only fester and make her even more bitter about it. However, she would need just a bit more time. She could manage sleeping on the couch for a few more days. It was a pretty comfy couch.

She finished up making breakfast and laid it out on the table. She figured it was time to wake up Minato, but as she looked up, she saw him leaning silently against the doorway watching her.

Kagome froze in place as a light blush crossed her face, she quickly looked away, "I made breakfast." She mumbled out. Hoping he would notice the unsaid, I'm sorry.

Minato didn't do anything for a minute, which made Kagome start fidgeting slightly. Minato but a smirk on his face and ruffled her hair, "Thanks kiddo, it looks great."

Kagome looked up at him with wide eyes, he wasn't mad at her? Her attitude yesterday had been less than stellar.

Breakfast was a quiet event but at least it wasn't as painfully awkward as yesterday's supper. Starting today she would try her best to be less of a brat, but that didn't mean that she had to accept the room as of yet. To pass the day away she grabbed the book about medical ninjutsu to read. While she wasn't as angry anymore, she didn't want to risk reigniting her anger again so she would take the day easy by herself simply reading.


	6. Chapter 6

The next couple of weeks passed pretty quickly and mostly in good relations. She was still sleeping on the couch though. It was possible that she might have given in earlier, but she was simply punishing him now. It had been her third night sleeping on the couch. She had woken up in the middle of the night only to find herself in her bed. Angrily she made her way back to the living room, ignoring just how comfy that been had been. She had very childishly in revenge only made herself breakfast that morning.

When Minato had woken up that morning, he didn't even bother checking Kagome's room. She was always up before him. She usually had breakfast waiting for him by the time he makes his way into the kitchen. To his surprise and slight apprehension, he saw Kagome sitting at the kitchen table. that wasn't so different, about the same as the last few days. No, what was different today was Kagome was nearly done eating. Usually, she waited for him. Then he noticed no plate waiting for him and her glare that didn't waver from him. He rubbed the back of his neck as he laughed awkwardly.

"Well, I hade to try." He said completely un-sorry.

Kagome had given a little huff in response but otherwise said nothing else.

After that Minato started taking her into the village. He showed her some of the sights, places to eat or shop at, and he even introduced her to a few of his friends. He took her back to the hospital a few times for regular check-ups, she still had to take it a bit easy until her back completely scars over. After a couple of days their routine changed. Even though Minato had the three months off from out of village missions, he didn't want to get lazy or rusty. So, he started taking her to his usual training grounds. Kagome would spend her time there split between reading under a tree nearby and watching Minato train in fascination. In just a couple more weeks she would get her clean bill of health from the hospital and she could ask him to train her as well. Though she should probably finally accept the room before that. Her doubts were still slightly haunting her mind though.

She had gone to talk to the Hokage the night before, to give and get a report on what had happened the past couple weeks. The Hokage had given her false story to the council and they seemed to have bought it. She had told him about what she had been up to, who she had met, and what she had managed to learn about the world so far. Then the topic of Midoriko had come up and worry had started to build in her mind at the Hokage's question.

"What happened to Midoriko after she sent you here? Is she gone for good?"

Kagome had gone pale at the implication. She had never even thought of the possibility that she wasn't gone forever. She had felt the amount of power Midoriko had used to open the portal and then blast Kikyo away from her. she had vaporized after that, disappearing altogether. Kagome had simply assumed that Midoriko had used up the rest of her power and that had been that. But what if she only used up the power she had at the time? Midoriko's soul was obviously still within the Shikon, which the Hokage had helped her turn back into a necklace for her to wear. What if Midoriko could gather up her energy once more and try again? Send her somewhere else that she would have even less of a chance to survive. There would probably not be another convenient Sage around to save her. Plus, her body now had chakra channels; which meant she needed chakra in her body to survive. She had read about people dying from using up too much of their chakra. If she was sent somewhere without chakra, she would most likely die. She had been extremely lucky ended up here where the leader of the village had been so understanding. There was no guarantee that would happen again. If Midoriko could gather energy to try again she would be completely screwed.

They decided to list Midoriko down as a missing-nin. Just in case she found a way to show back up. She was listed as an extremely dangerous kunoichi with an unknown kekkei genkai. The only way to truly get rid of Midoriko was to make a pure wish on the jewel, which as stated before was truly an impossible thing. Or, she could replace her soul in the gem with another of equal power. For one, Kagome refused to force somebody into that eternal hell. Secondly, the only person Kagome knew of was herself. Even Kikyo wouldn't have been strong enough if they were still in the same dimension. The only reason that she knew her soul was powerful enough was that the jewel had been actively trying to replace the souls within it. Naraku was to take the place of Magatsuhi and herself to take the place of Midoriko. Kagome would rather be the protector of the jewel for the rest of her life, and bringing the burden to any next reincarnations she may have than take Midoriko's place within the jewel.

That conversation with the Hokage had made her rather paranoid. She kept half-expecting Midoriko to manifest behind her at any moment and attack her. She was pretty jumpy this morning, and Minato was noticing it. She had gotten lost in the thoughts while making breakfast, thinking about the whole Midoriko thing. Let's just say he scared her worse than the first day she had made breakfast. He had been carefully watching her since.

"What's the matter Kagome-chan? What's got you so spooked?" Minato finally asked.

Kagome looked at him before quickly looking down to her cup of tea, "It's nothing."

"Bullshit." Minato barked out, which surprised Kagome enough to look back up at him with wide eyes. Minato had never sworn before, at least not around her, "I'll let you go on your bedroom strike as long as you feel like you need to. I've learned enough about you by now to know there is more to the room than me just buying you things. However, I'll let you keep that to yourself unless you feel like telling me. I'll always listen to whatever you have to say.

"What I won't tolerate is you keeping something like this to yourself. You are obviously scared of something. If you are worrying about something that makes you this jumpy, then it is most likely something big. You don't strike me as a girl who gets frightened over the small things. It is my job to protect you, both physically and mentally. I can't do that if you keep shutting me out! So, I'll ask again. What's wrong?" Minato lectured.

Kagome stared at him with wide eyes, her mouth opening and closing uselessly. His aura was practically screaming his sincerity. Her grip tightened on her teacup, "It's really nothing Minato-san." She managed to get out, "I don't want to bother you with it."

"Tell me anyway," Minato answered earnestly.

Kagome let out a small sigh and looked out the nearby window. She hesitated for a moment before deciding, what the hell may as well. It could possibly affect him in the future as well, "During my meeting with Hokage-sama yesterday he brought up the possibility that Midoriko might come back to finish what she started. I guess I hadn't thought about it even being an option. I was hoping that she was gone for good, but there is a chance she could come after me again." Kagome admitted quietly.

Minato started at her seriously, his lips pulling into a slight frown, "You should know by now that I won't let anything happen to you. If somebody comes after you, they'll have to get through me first. I wasn't promoted to Jonin so young for anything you know. Just watching me practice by myself doesn't show much of my skills, but I am pretty tough." He tried to soothe her fears. He should have realized that her fear of the person that almost succeeded in killing her would come back sooner or later. She just always put on a cheerful façade that he sometimes forgot that she just lost everything not too long ago. Of course, she would still have some fears and pain, that she obviously wasn't showing him.

A pained look appeared in Kagome's eyes as she remembered Inuyasha trying to save her only to pass right through the dead priestess. If her assumptions were right, only those with spiritual powers could interact with Midoriko. She didn't think chakra would count, so the only person that would be able to fight her off would be Kagome herself. Would she be powerful enough to beak Midoriko herself though? A sad sigh escaped her before she could stop it, "You may not have a chance to help though." She said without really thinking.

Before Minato would answer her a knock on the front door interrupted them. He had to fight back a growl of frustration, just when he was actually getting somewhere! He stood up to go answer the door.

Kagome stretched her senses out of curiosity and realized she recognized the aura on the other side of the door. She hadn't met many people the past couple weeks, and he was rather unique anyway. She quietly followed Minato to the door.

When he opened the door revealing Shikaku looking a bit frustrated, Minato tilted his head in confusion, "Shikaku?" he asked in a confused tone. Shikaku had never come to his house before. He was friends with the Nara, sure, but never really to the point of visiting each other. He was more friends with Inoichi within the current Ino-Shika-Cho formation.

"Ugh, hey Minato. I got a favor to ask." Shikaku grumbled out, muttering a quiet, "How troublesome."

"Oh, um, sure. What do you need?"

Kagome peeked around Minato and smiled at the Nara at their door, "Good morning Shikaku-san. How are you today?"

Shikaku's eyes immediately darted down to her and a small smirk appeared on his face, "I'm good kid." He casually strolled forward a few steps before picking her up and carrying her under his arm, "I need to borrow the kid for a few hours Minato. I'll bring her back later." He said before walking away without giving Minato a chance to answer.

"Shikaku!" Minato called out in shock as he watched his ward being carried away. He didn't stop him, however. Kagome had a rather odd friendship with both Shikaku and Inoichi. Maybe spending some time with the laid-back Nara would be good for her today.

Kagome for her part tried to look up at Shikaku, but from her position, she wasn't' able to see his face, "Uh, Shikaku-san… where are we going?"

Inoichi had come over a few times the past couple weeks to spend some time with her. He had taken her over to Shikaku's every single time. She knew what he was doing, he was giving her a chance to get to know Shikaku better so she would make up her mind whether to tell the truth or not. She was getting to know the lazy ninja better, but she was still teetering on the fence. On the plus side, she got to help with the deer each time. Inoichi somehow always managed to kidnap her each time Shikaku was on feeding duty.

Shikaku sighed, "Need your help with the deer." He said simply.

Kagome frowned in concern, "Are they okay?" she asked quickly.

"Yeah, they're fine." He gave her a considering look before continuing, "It's grooming day and I'm the lucky one that got stuck with it this week. The deer, however, have gotten used to you showing up whenever I do. When you didn't show up today, the dominant buck wouldn't' let me close to any of the herd. I think he's worried about you. I could use my clan jutsu to freeze him, but I don't want to lose the herd's trust. So, I left to grab you." He explained.

Kagome giggled softly at the mental image of the deer continuously avoiding Shikaku, "Sorry to cause trouble."

"It's fine I guess, not as if you did it on purpose. This way I'll get extra help. The person who I was supposed to be partnered with got sent on a mission so it was going to be troublesome by myself. This way it'll be less troublesome I guess."

Kagome didn't say anything back, only wiggled a bit to get into a more comfortable position. She settled in for the approximately ten-minute walk back to Shikaku's house.

When they got to the deer field Shikaku finally put her down. He gave her a 'wait there' motion before disappearing into the shed. She glanced to the side, already the deer were coming closer to greet her. Shikaku came out with two aprons and Kagome raised her eyebrows in question.

"Brushing and washing the deer is not a clean job. They get full of dust, dirt, and other things that get stuck to their hair. Plus, once you start washing them the water can get everywhere." He explained as he helped her put the apron on. It was meant for an adult so she was drowning in it.

Shikaku chuckled at the image Kagome made and she pouted up at him. He handed her a brush set as she carried a couple of buckets of soapy water, "Alright, let's get this over with."

Kagome rolled her eyes at practically being forced to work without really being asked first. She didn't really mind though; she liked spending time with the deer and it gave her something different from her usual routine to do. The deer herd was calming to her, and to Shikaku as well if his aura was anything to go by. No matter what he said otherwise. He put her in charge of the dominant buck and the fawns as he took care of the doe. The fawns had happily darted over to her, they were much more confident on their feet since the first time she had met them.

Nearly two hours later they were finally done. Kagome let out a tired sigh as she plopped onto the ground. She really needed to work on her stamina for her current sized body. Simply cleaning deer shouldn't have made her so tired. She used to be able to keep up with Inuyasha's slave driver pace for hours without a break before she started getting tired. Maybe she should start jogging or something.

During those two hours, Shikaku watched Kagome closely. He had noticed how tightly would she had been when he first saw her behind Minato. She had flinched slightly when he had picked her up as well. She had never flinched before when he had picked her up. He usually had to end up rescuing her from the herd as they made their way back into the woods. The herd was nothing but determined to make her part of their herd. She had slowly relaxed and unconsciously let down her guard as she brushed the fur of the deer. Now, Shikaku was far from stupid. He was a Nara for crying out loud.

He knew there was _something _off with the kid, he just couldn't figure out what. And that irritated him. He could usually read people really well, but Kagome was an enigma. The first thing he noticed was that Inoichi did not treat Kagome like a child. He had seen his friend with other kids, and that was not how he acted around Kagome. No, he treated her almost like an equal. She was also amazingly smart for someone her age. He had seen some of the books she read, and none of them were mean for her age bracket. He had once seen her with an advanced medical ninjutsu book. The lowest reading level book he had seen her with were textbooks meant for the final year at the school. Even so, those were five years past what her reading level _should _be.

He had also caught snippets of conversations between Inoichi and Kagome. The way her brain worked was not at all like a seven-year-old. The simple answer could be that she was a natural genius, just a kid with a very high IQ. He wasn't stupid enough to simply leave it at that though. There were other things that didn't add up. For how smart she apparently was, there were a ton of things that went way over her head. Common terms or items that she had apparently never even heard of before. He had overheard his dad talking to some of the higherups in the Nara district about the rumors about her completely sheltered village. He didn't buy it though. There was no way a village could be that well shut off from the rest of the world. She also dad things that he had never seen other kids do. His mind immediately jumped to the left-over groceries he had found after they left after that first meeting. He watched her carefully put away the cleaning supplies without even being asked. Most kids would just wait for an adult to do it. Or, they wait until they were specifically told to do so, but they would complain the entire time.

He watched her try and undo the knots he had to tie in the apron strings to make it stay on her small frame. He shook his head and made his way over to help her. Again, any other kid would have automatically asked for help. Kagome usually tired to avoid getting help from people. She was extremely independent for a seven-year-old.

Finally, he simply asked, "So, am I supposed to keep pretending that everything is normal with you?"

Kagome froze up and she stared at him with eyes full of shock. She didn't move as he finished freeing her from the apron, "Wh-what do you mean?" she stammered out. Trying desperately to try and tap into her kid persona.

Shikaku sighed, "How troublesome." He glanced up at the sky, "Have you ever played shogi kid?"

Kagome started fidgeting nervously, why the sudden change of topic? When he didn't look back at her she finally answered, "Um, my grandpa taught me how and my older brother played with me a few times." Miroku had said it was a good game to help test the mind. She never really had the patience or the skill to play the game though. Miroku always completely dominated her before she even had a chance, so eventually, she had started denying him when he asked her if she wanted to play. She shrugged, "I'm really not good at it though." She admitted.

Shikaku seemed momentarily surprised, "Really? With a mind like yours, I find that hard to believe."

Kagome frowned in confusion, "A mind like mine?"

Shikaku glanced down at her, did she really not realize how advanced she was for someone her age? She reminded him of some of the exceptionally bright Nara children. He started walking away, "Come on, we'll play a round or two before I take you back."

Kagome jogged after him, "Playing me won't be any fun for you. You'll beat me with no problem. Miroku always seemed to win before I could even get into the game."

Shikaku smirked slightly, he had already learned something about her without even really trying. He knew that she had a grandmother and an elder sister. She had never mentioned a brother before, he wondered how much more family she had before she lost them. He also now knew that she was not a very good loser.

He shrugged, "It's fine, we can talk while we play. I'll give you some pointers."

Kagome frowned, was he just trying to get her to talk about her past? She let out a small huff, "And if I don't want to talk?" she was tired of people digging for information. Minato was bad enough this morning.

Shikaku shrugged again, "Then I guess it'll be a pretty quiet match." He will admit that he's not really the best at talking to people. His dad always helped him work through his problems while playing shogi, however. So, maybe that would help the kid as well. It was worth a shot anyway.

As they sat down on the porch Shikaku explained the basic rules as a refresher course for her. He dialed down his strategies as he played to actually give her a chance. They played in complete silence for a while, though Shikaku could clearly see the indecision on her face.

Kagome bit her lip as she thought over her next move, and not just on the game board. Should she tell him? Should she put her trust into the man across from her? She moved her pice on the board as her mind drifted back to what Inoichi had told her. _Though if you did want someone else in the village to know, just so you'd have another person you didn't have to hide yourself with, Shikaku would be a very good choice. He doesn't judge someone at first glance, he takes time to form his own opinion of them. He can also keep a secret better than anyone else I know. _Suddenly her mind was made up. She needed to do this. She needed to be able to trust the people in this village. Obviously not everyone, that would be ridiculous. A select few would be needed, however, like her group in the feudal era. She trusted Inoichi and Inoichi trusted Shikaku, which was good enough for her.

"So, you said we could talk… right?" Kagome asked nervously.

"Yup, what's on your mind Kid?" Shikaku answered without even looking up from the board. Which Kagome realized she appreciated; it gave the illusion that she was just thinking things through out loud.

"I need to know that you'll keep this a secret. I am super serious about this. The only other people that know this are Inoichi-san and Hokage-sama. What I'm about to say shows that I trust you. I really need you to not break that trust. Inoichi-san promised me you were good at keeping secrets." She pleaded with him.

Shikaku glanced up at only to see how serious she looks, "As long as it does not threaten the village or my friends, you have my word."

Kagome let out a slow sigh as she thought over where to start, "Let me begin with the less emotional route. At the moment I'm kinda having a fight with Minato-san. I guess you could say we are at a, uh, standoff." She dove into explaining the whole room fiasco to him but leaving out anything to do with her older mindset as of yet.

"I get that it was against your wishes, but why did it make you so angry?" Shikaku asked rather confused. Kagome seemed like a pretty rational kid; he wouldn't have expected her to fly off the handle because of something like that.

"Here is where it gets more confusing and less believable." She took a deep breath before simply plunging into it, "Before the day Minato found me and brought me to Konoha, well I am from a different world. My world had demons and Ki, not ninja and chakra. My team and I had just finished defeating our greatest enemy that we had been fighting for three years, someone who had killed thousands just for a play for power. Then a completely unexpected enemy caught us by surprise and she managed to send me to your world."

"Why would someone as young as yourself be in a fight against anyone? If what you say is true you would have been only four when you started fighting him."

Kagome gave a hollow laugh as she moved a shogi piece, she didn't want to look at him and see the disbelief on his face, "That's the whole thing, I had just turned fifteen when my fight against him began."

Shikaku looked at her with wide, unbelieving eyes. She didn't even glance at him and didn't let him talk either. She launched into an explanation of her adventures. Her friends, her family, her trials, her enemies, the enemies turned allies. Three years of adventures condensed down to an hour and a half explanation.

Shikaku had a very serious look on his face as she finished explaining Midoriko's attack. She delved into the conversation she had with the Hokage yesterday. Her worries about Midoriko coming back to finish what she started.

Shikaku was quiet for a while, thinking over everything he had just learned. The shogi board was long forgotten between them. Kagome started fidgeting nervously as the silence stretched on.

Finally, Shikaku groaned and rubbed a hand over his eyes, "Kami, that's a lot to take in all at once kid. I can tell you are telling the truth. Your story filled in a lot of blanks in what I already knew about you. Ugh, how troublesome."

Kagome finally looked at him with wide eyes, "You really believe me?"

Shikaku raised an eyebrow, "Are you lying?"

"No!" Kagome shouted quickly.

Shikaku smirked, "Yeah, didn't think so. You seemed too sincere to be making any of that up."

Kagome flushed happily, "Thank you for believing me! You're the first that I've vocally told. Inoichi-san and Hokage-sama viewed my memories."

"So, if this Midoriko lady is able to come back, what can we do?"

Kagome shrugged as a frown pulled at her lips, "I highly doubt any of you will be able to do anything. When she attacked before Kikyo was able to make contact with her while Inuyasha phased right through her. I believe the only people able to fight Midoriko are others with spiritual abilities. Hokage-sama said that he didn't know of any others in this world that were priestesses like I am. I think I'm the only person able to do anything, which is terrifying. My goal is to ask Minato to train me after I get the all-clear from the hospital. I can help my healing along, so hopefully, I can get a clean bill of health sooner than predicted. I need to get stronger so I can protect myself and the people I care about." She explained.

Shikaku frowned in understanding, "Right, I'll think that over for ideas later. Now, you said earlier you were having a fight with Minato? It might be a bit difficult to ask him for help while you're in the middle of a fight. What's going on fully there?"

Kagome blushed in embarrassment after explaining the whole room situation more in-depth. This fight with Minato was so childish and meaningless when explained out loud. She explained about her true feelings about the room and her underlying fears. How hard it was to finally accept the room.

"I say you just say to hell with it and accept the room. Just make sure he knows that you have a set of morals and are no pushover. Minato is pretty understanding; you just have to let him know. Sit down with him and lay down the ground rules with him. I can understand you not telling him about your past just yet, but if you plan on staying with him for the long run, you'll have to tell him eventually. But for now, accept the room. Minato is not the type of guy to make you do anything you don't want to do. I had thought it was very interesting that you got put with him at first. Now, I don't think the Hokage could have picked someone better. You two will be an excellent match, once you get passed this barrier."

Kagome pouted but nodded her agreement, "That makes sense, I guess. Inoichi-san was right, you are really smart."

Shikaku chuckled, "Well I am a Nara."

Kagome was already shaking her head before he finished talking, "No, it's more than that. Your smarts go beyond your clan. You are a very unique individual. So, thank you."

Shikaku looked at her weirdly before shaking his head, "Whatever, you're a weird one kid." A devious grin appeared on his face, "You know what will help you get stronger in the future?"

Kagome slowly shook her head, "No." she answered just as slowly. She was pretty sure she didn't like that look on his face.

"Increasing your tactical mind, and the best way to do that…" he paused and pointed down to the previously forgotten board, "Shogi."

Kagome groaned in dismay, "Ugh, but I suck at it."

He let out a genuine laugh, "That's what practice is for kid. Most are going to underestimate you right off the back because of your age. Use that to your advantage."

Kagome gave a sigh of defeat, "Fine, where do we start?"

"That will have to be another time. I told Minato I'd only borrow you for a few hours and I feel like we've gone past that already." He saw the brief look of disappointment that crossed her face and he stored that away for future thought, "How about this, every time Inoichi drags you over here we'll play a few rounds. Then when you get your release from your probation you can come over whenever. I can become your tactical coach."

"Why are you so willing to help me? We met less than a month ago." She asked cautiously. His offer was amazing, but she did need to know. Nobody had ever offered to teach her like this before. Everything she learned in the past was either through experience or begging whichever teacher to help her.

Shikaku shrugged, "No reason in particular. You seem like a very earnest girl who cares a lot about those she deems as hers. You clearly _want_ to better yourself, which is more than most shinobi nowadays. Inoichi already cares about you a good deal. And, well, it's not like I have anything better to do with my time. I actually enjoy playing shogi. Plus, training someone who could be an actual challenge in the future sounds interesting. So, you in?"

Kagome let a huge grin take over her face as she launched herself over the shogi table to tackle Shikaku in a tight hug, "Thank you Shikaku-san!" she cried happily.

Shikaku patted the top of her head, "No problem kid." He mentally frowned, why was she so happy about getting help. Especially something as trivial as this? She definitely had some self-esteem issues that worried him a bit. If she wanted to get stronger, she would need to work on more than just physical strength. She needed to work on her mental strength as well or she could become very suspectable to genjutsu attacks.

Once she let him go he stood up and stretched, "Alright let's get you back home. Remember, accept the stupid room kid."

"Right." She grumbled as she sneakily grabbed onto his hand. Like Inoichi she felt comfortable around Shikaku, so she let more of her childish tendencies pour out around him. She was nearing that point with Minato; they just had a few more hurdles to get across. Those shouldn't be too hard though.

She doesn't really know why but she kinda likes how Shikaku calls her 'kid' even still after learning the truth. If anyone else called her that she would probably get a bit grumpy, but she didn't care how Shikaku calls her it. It was almost like a nickname at this point and she would have been a little sad to see it go. Shikaku rarely called her anything else.

Shikaku quickly took her back home. He handed her off to Minato, noticing his slight frown at her holding his hand. Shikaku held back his eye roll as he started walking away with a wave. He had a ton of things rolling around in his head, ugh life just got so much more troublesome. He found that he didn't mind terribly, however. There was just something about her that made her extremely likable. He truly wanted to help her as best as he could. Giving her an up in her strategy, playing shogi with her, would be a good first step. However, he did want to have a talk with the Hokage. With that in mind, he took off towards the Hokage Tower.

Minato watched Shikaku walk away before he turned to Kagome, "So, how was your day?"

She sent a big smile towards him, "It was really fun! Shikaku-san let me help brush the deer herd. Then we played shogi for a while. I'm not very good at it, but he said he'd start teaching me. I'm looking forward to it." She told him excitedly.

"Really? Shikaku said he'd teach you Shogi?"

"Yup." She answered happily as she skipped inside the house.

Minato followed her inside dumbfounded. Since when did Shikaku volunteer to do anything? He watched her grab a book and curl up on the armchair. A grin spread over his face. His ward was such a little bookworm.

"What'cha reading now Kagome-chan?" he asked curiously. He learned that Inoichi would lend her pretty much everything and anything. So, any book she picked up could literally be about anything.

"Oh." Kagome said as she looked at the cover, "It's about the founding of the nine hidden villages. I just got done with Konoha's section and I'm starting about the Hidden Mist. I find it really interesting how different each village is from the others." It really was fascinating how places so close together were from their neighbors. It was almost like each was their own country. This place was so similar to feudal japan but at the same time so different. It is a lot to learn and try to retain that information.

A few hours later Kagome glanced over to see Minato working on the same thing he had been since the night of their fight. Her curiosity got the better of her. She put her book down and made her way over to her guardian.

"What is that you're working on?" she asked as she stood on her tippy-toes to be able to see the top of the table better.

Minato snorted out a laugh as he saw her struggling to see. She really was a short kid, "I'm working on a new jutsu. It takes a lot of work and research. A lot of things can go wrong when making a brand new jutsu." He explained. He felt a sense of accomplishment as he saw curiosity and excitement shine in her eyes. Finally, something that caught her attention. Everyone else seemed to get on with her so easily and he just couldn't seem to find common ground.

"Will… will you show me a bit?" Kagome asked, trying to attempt to start bridging that gap between them.

Minato practically lit up, "I'd love to."

For the rest of the day they just sat together and Minato explained what he was trying to do. It was a nice bonding experience. As Kagome finally started feeling sleepy, she decided to call it a night.

"I'm going to head to bed, goodnight Minato-san," Kagome said as she fell off her chair onto the floor.

"Alright, sleep well Kagome-chan," Minato said with a smile as he watched her walk down the hallway.

An amused smirk appeared on Kagome's face as she made her way to her room. She wondered what Minato would do when he found her asleep in her room for the first time since he upgraded it. It should be amusing at the very least.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone! Just letting you all know that I've started posting this story on Wattpad as well. Same story name and same username. If any of you would like to post comments over there feel free. Now onto the story. **

The past couple of months had gone by surprisingly fast, but that was fine with Kagome. Her only problem lately was that the longer she spent in this world, the more she had been missing her old one. She knew going back wasn't an option so she tried her best to ignore those thoughts, but it was like her old friends were making sure they were all she could think about.

It had started small; one day she had been helping Shikaku with the deer, like normal when a stray thought popped into her mind. Shippo would really enjoy this. Her thoughts had ground to a halt after that. She hadn't really thought about her friends before then, she had been actively trying not to. She knew she would miss them too much if she kept going down that path. The next few weeks it seemed like anything she saw reminded her of one friend or another.

She would see kunoichi training and her mind would drift to Sango. Kagome had managed to ask Minato to start training her to be a kunoichi. He had been reluctant at first, but he had eventually come around. As she ran through drills, she wondered how Sango would do a certain move. Or, how proud Sango would be of her of finally taking her training seriously. As Minato and herself walked past one of the local hot spring baths, she would remember all the times she and Sango snuck off to take baths together and just have some girl-talk time. She missed the simple girl time she had with her sister.

Seeing kids playing together in the park would make her mind whip to Shippo, Rin, and Kanna. They had managed to save Kanna from Naraku a few months before the final battle and she had chosen to travel with them. Kanna wasn't the most emotive kid, but she had been getting better towards the end. She would see Kanna in the kids that kept more to themselves, but still close enough to be involved in what was going on. Kagome could walk past a patch of flowers and all she could think about was Rin. Rin loved flowers, particularly making flower crowns out of them. Practically everything reminded her of Shippo, her precious Shippo. She felt so bad having made Shippo lose another parent. She missed Shippo so much it hurt at times; he was her kit. She had adopted him as her own and all she wanted was him back at her side. She knew that wasn't possible however so she had started trying to avoid other kids. At least for a while, all they did was remind her of her lost son.

She had passed a guy in the street with white hair and then all she could think about was Inuyasha. The shinobi she would see on the streets that kept their emotions to themselves also reminded her of him. Or the ninja she saw that seemed to fight more with brute strength than strategy. Inuyasha was her best friend, still was her best friend, and probably would always remain her best friend. There was a lot of little things she would see or hear that would make her think of him, it was starting to become like a kind of torture.

She would be reminded of Miroku as guys flirted with their girlfriends. Bad pick-up lines especially made her think of her older brother figure. As she played Shogi with Shikaku her mind would drift to Miroku attempting to teach her. His wise words, usually followed by something inappropriate but that was just Miroku. In the feudal era, Miroku was the person that helped her learn the most, the people training her made her think of her first teacher the most. Training had become an almost double-edged blade.

She missed all of her friends so much and she didn't even have a picture to remind her of them. She missed her family as well. Her mama, grandpa, and Sota. She wondered what Inuyasha had told her family, or if he had told them anything. Had he even been able to tell them? It was possible the well stopped working after she had left that world. Would her family forever be wondering what happened to her, if she was still alive? What would be better for them? On one hand, they could stay ignorant and still hold onto a glimmer of hope of her returning home one day. On the other it's not like any of her friends knew what actually happened to her after she fell through the portal, so what would they be able to tell her family? Sorry, Kagome disappeared and we don't know if she's even alive or not. Yeah, probably not a nice way to go about it. She hopes that her mom won't be too sad about her not coming back. She didn't want her mom going through the rest of her life in depression. Also, she hopes that Sota will forgive her for breaking the promise she had made to him so long ago. A promise of staying alive and always returning to him. She had broken that promise, perhaps not in the way he had meant, but it was still broken.

It was one of the nights that her mind was being exceptionally mean to her and she woke up practically sobbing from a nightmare. She angrily wiped her tears away but they just kept coming. All of a sudden, she felt so lonely, scared, and alone. She didn't want to be alone. She grabbed the stuffed animals that Minato had bought her and hugged them tightly. After a few minutes of the tears not stopping and the fears not going away she decided that they just weren't helping tonight. Her eyes drifted to the wall that separated her room from Minato's. Should she? The eighteen-year-old in her mind said absolutely not, to just tough through it and try and go back to sleep. The seven-year-old part of her brain was screaming for someone to comfort her. The seven-year-old won. She grabbed the stuffed rabbit, which had become her favorite between the two, and hopped out of bed. She very slowly walked out of her room and towards Minato's. She paused for a moment in front of Minato's cracked door. He never fully closed it, always leaving it open about halfway just in case.

Kagome tip-toed into Minato's room and very slowly approached the bed. Apprehension grew in her mind as she got closer to the large bed. This was ridiculous, why was she doing this? That didn't stop her, however. She came to a stop at the edge of the bed and slowly reached up to tug on Minato's arm.

Minato woke up with a start as he felt a pull on his arm. He blearily looked over to see Kagome standing there with a miserable expression on her face. Tears were pooled in her eyes and her cheeks were wet from her previous tears. She was clutching her stuffed rabbit like it was a lifeline. Minato was immediately fully alert, "Kagome what's wrong?" They had dropped the suffixes a few weeks ago.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I woke you up." She said and she suddenly looked like she was regretting her decision.

Minato sat up and started attempting to dry her face, the new tears didn't help much however, "Nonsense I don't mind at all. Really, what's wrong?"

"I just had a nightmare," Kagome whispered as she looked down at the floor.

Minato frowned slightly; he had noticed her recent mental state but didn't know what to do. She would disconnect from reality for a while before coming back with a sad look on her face. It had seemed like she was going to start making friends her age until she suddenly started avoiding other kids like the plague. He didn't want to push her, that always made her start pulling away which was the opposite of what he wanted. However, if this kept up, he would have to start doing something. Whatever was going on was obviously not healthy. It looked like it was starting to affect her sleep as well now too.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Minato cautiously asked.

Kagome bit her lip as more tears spilled over, "I just miss them all so much." She answered after a moment of silence.

Minato's eyes went wide in realization. The loss of her village was finally starting to get to her. He had thought that she had been taking the loss of everything and everyone she had ever known a bit too well. She had thrown herself into books to learn new things, all to keep her mind off of the waiting torment. This was the stage that he had been dreading when he decided to take her in. He was fully familiar with the loss of family and loved ones, he was the last of this clan. He had lost one person after another for years. She had lost everyone at once, which was much more of a blow though.

"Oh Kagome, come here." He reached down and picked her up before sitting her on his lap. He gave her the best hug he could as she cried into his shoulder. She clung onto him and he let her, he would willingly be the rock she very clearly needed at the moment. He wasn't able to do much, but this was the least he could do. After a good ten minutes, her crying finally died down a bit, the sobbing transitioning to hiccups, "Do you want to sleep with me for the rest of the night?" he asked quietly.

Kagome didn't vocally answer, just nodding her head slowly. She was too miserable at the moment to even care about it possibly being weird. Minato was like this warm light and that was exactly what she needed at the moment.

"All right." He laid her down on the opposite side of the bed and tucked her in before crawling back under the covers himself. Kagome skootched herself closer and curled up right next to him. In one hand she had hold of her rabbit and in the other, she grabbed a fistful of Minato's sleep-shirt. A small smile pulled at Minato's lips, while the scenario wasn't the best it looked like she was finally opening up and trusting him. This was a very good step in the right direction.

That night was another turning point in the relationship between Kagome and Minato. She started opening up to him a lot more and she was considering telling him about her past. She wasn't sure she wanted to tell him about her real age however, so she had been thinking about how to change her story to hide that little detail. She had started calling him Minato-Nii after that night, and she just wanted him to think of her as his little sister. She had come to the conclusion after that night that while she missed her old life, she wouldn't really have a chance to go back to it. So, if she was going to be staying here it was well past time to find her own family. Minato was a great start with that.

Then came the day that she had been looking forward to since her agreement with the Hokage. Freedom! Her three-month probationary period was up and she had passed with flying colors. That meant that she no longer had to have a chaperone at all times. She would just go out by herself and not worry about getting in trouble. Which was exactly what her plan was for today. She was just going to take a casual walk around town, all by herself. Oh, she was so ready for some alone time. Something that she had been sorely missing these past three months. She had been walking around for about ten minutes when she spotted something that absolutely boiled her blood.

A group of three boys was beating up boy a few years younger than herself. The three looked like they were eleven or twelve, so why in the world would they be picking on a kid so young? Thankfully Minato had been training her pretty hardcore the past couple months, she could easily hold her own against these three idiots. She marched over before punching the largest bully right in the back of the head.

"Gah!" the boy shouted as he fell down.

Kagome quickly jumped in front of the green-clad boy to protect him better.

"Leave him alone." She growled at them. She hated bullies, absolutely despised them. She had never been fond of bullies growing up having been teased herself as a little kid. Learning and witnessing what Inuyasha went through just because of him being a hanyo made her hatred burn for bullies.

The boy she had punched stood up quickly and once the three boys saw it was a small girl that interrupted them they laughed, completely ignoring that she had managed to get the jump on them just a few seconds prior, "What are you gonna do about it girlie?" one asked loudly.

"This had nothing to do with you kid. Just leave us and the freak alone and we won't hurt you." The apparent leader of the three said warned her.

Kagome's eyes went dark and she was suddenly extremely grateful for Minato's intense training regime, "You hurt me?" she gave a dark chuckle, "I would like to see you try."

"What?" one of the boys asked in surprise.

"You stupid or something?" another asked.

"No, I just know that you idiots won't be a problem," Kagome answered confidently.

"Cheeky brat needs to be brought down a few pegs." The leader said angrily.

As one the boys rushed at her and she almost had to laugh, these boys were nothing. Just punks really, all bark no bite. They moved so slowly compared to Minato. Plus, will all of the experience fighting demons made this fight laughable. She held her ground and made sure to protect the boy that was on the ground staring at her with wide eyes. She stayed on the defensive for a few minutes, pretty much just playing with them, before suddenly switching to the offensive. With well-placed jabs and kicks she had the three boys on the ground groaning.

Her mind suddenly drifted to a past conversation she had with Kikyo a few months before the final battle.

"_I am going to teach you a new technique. It is not a very useful thing to know, but it can be used as an intimidation tactic. It is not something just anyone is able to do, you need to have enough energy and exceptional control over your Ki." Kikyo explained as she pulled her aside._

"_Oh, alright, what is it? Do you really think I'll be able to do it?" she asked curiously._

"_Of course; besides what you may think, and what Inuyasha keeps saying, you have more natural talent than I do. Your control is also rather good especially considering you've only been actively training for two years. Your bow from Mount Azusa would not work for you as it does."_

_Kagome blushed at the compliment, "Oh, okay. So what is it?"_

"_Watch my eyes," Kikyo instructed and in the next moment Kikyo's eyes glowed an almost eerie pink. The same color as Kikyo's own Ki, "It can't be used offensively, but it can show your ability without having to fight. Most demons with common sense normally back off as they know it is not a trick most can master."_

_Excitement swelled in Kagome, this was the first time Kikyo volunteered to teach her ANYTHING, "Please teach me!" she answered with a smile._

Kagome made a dark smile pull at her lips and she felt her eyes start glowing. She knew it would be the same color as the Shikon. She saw slight fear appear on the boy's faces and her only thought was good. Let these bullies feel the fear they like seeing in others.

"Leave him alone or I'll find you and you will curse the day you trifled with me. Now leave." She warned them. Hopefully, this would keep these boys from beating up a kid again.

"We won't forget this you little witch!" the leader boy yelled as they all ran out of the alleyway.

Finally, Kagome turned around to actually take a good at the boy that she saved. She did have to be honest; he was kinda a weird-looking kid. His black hair hung shaggily around his chin, though his bangs were clearly in a bowl-cut design. He wore a sleeveless green spandex jumpsuit and a red scarf tied around his neck. He had a rather large nose that he hadn't quite grown into yet. His black eyes were filled with tears that he was fighting back. There was already a bruise forming on his cheek.

Kagome kneeled down in front of him, making sure her eyes weren't glowing anymore to scare the boy, "Are you alright?"

The boy rubbed at his eyes to try and dry them and only nodded.

Kagome frowned for a moment and she let her Ki wash over the boy, to search for any injuries worse than bruises. The boys had been kicking at the boy on the ground, they could have broken something. She quickly pasted a large smile on her face, "My name is Kagome, what's yours?"

"Might Guy, but you can call me Guy." He mumbled out.

"Nice to meet you Guy, does anything hurt?" She asked, right as she finished asking, her Ki detected a sprained ankle. Everything else was just bruised, nothing too serious.

"No, I am fine, thank you for your help Kagome," Guy said as he jumped in excitement only to fall back down when he put weight onto his bad ankle.

Kagome very nearly rolled her eyes, yeah, he was totally fine, "Are you expected somewhere anytime soon?" she asked him.

"My dad said I was free to play all day." He answered her.

"Alright, here hop on," Kagome said as she showed him her back. If he wasn't needed anywhere, she could take him back to the Namikaze district and heal his ankle there. She knew at least no prying eyes would be around in the Namikaze district.

"What?" Guy asked in a confused tone.

"I'll take you back to my house and we'll get you cleaned up and I'm sure my guardian wouldn't mind making us a snack."

"Oh, you don't need to do that, I'll be fine. I have to power of youth on my side."

Kagome was a bit confused but simply answered, "Even the, uh, youth… need help every once in a while. Come on."

For a moment she didn't think he would accept her help but she eventually felt him climb on her back. It took a bit longer to get back home with the new burden on her back, but she didn't mind. She definitely got a few odd looks, but she was very good at ignoring looks like those by now. She couldn't count all of the looks she got in the feudal era. If not for the strange clothing she wore, then the company she kept. It was extremely unheard of that a Miko was willingly around demons or even half-demons. Once people realized that she was a Miko, especially one that adopted a fox kit, she got plenty of odd looks and dark glares. There were many people who thought that she had betrayed them and switched sides, no matter how ridiculous that was. It seems that no matter where she went people were destined to look at her oddly. So, it was safe to say she was used to it by now.

Eventually, she made it back home right as Minato was coming out of the house he always seemed to know where she was or when she was coming. She didn't know how he did it without being able to see auras like her, she was assuming it had to be something to do with chakra but she hadn't read anything about it yet. Minato would only ever give her a cheeky grin when she asked so he wasn't giving her anything she was going to have to find this one out on her own. He currently had a confused look on his face, "I thought you'd be gone for longer Gome." Minato said before catching sight of the boy on her back, "Oh my gosh, what happened? Are you two alright?"

"I ran into something I couldn't ignore on my walk. Do you think you could pull together some snacks for us?"

"Oh, um, sure. I mean of course. We will be talking about this later though." He warned her.

Kagome nodded her agreement and headed towards the garden in their backyard. She set Guy down on one of the benches. She knelt down in front of him and bit her lip nervously.

She really didn't want people to know about her "kekkei genkai" yet. It seemed a bit too risky before she had enough of a foothold in the village. Sure, she had a pretty good start; the Hokage was in her corner, Inoichi and Shikaku would also help her without a second thought, and finally, she had Minato. It was definitely a good start, but she had read about what could happen to people with rare kekkei genkai's. She had read all about what happened to the Uzumaki clan, they had nearly gotten wiped out because of their healing ability, only a few still survived. Especially women, she did not want to mysteriously disappear or get cornered into marrying someone just to have kids. Kagome was from modern-day Tokyo; she knew how to protect herself while slowly releasing information to trusted people.

"Where are we?" Guy asked as he finally started looking around. He had hidden his face in her back for most of the trip here. She wasn't sure if it was because of the pain, to hide tears or embarrassment at his situation.

"Oh, we are in the Namikaze district," Kagome answered bluntly, not really thinking anything of it. Besides the hospital, this was the only place she had lived since coming here. It was just natural to her to others, however, as far as the common public knew only Minato lived within the Namikaze district.

Guy's eyes went wide in surprise, "The Namikaze district? What are we doing here?" he remembered his dad telling him to stay out of any clan district that he wasn't invited into beforehand.

Kagome sent him an amused look, "I live here." She plowed on before he could say anything, "Look I know that your ankle is hurt and I can do something to help you. However, you have to close your eyes for me to do so, and you can't open them until I say so. Do we have a deal?"

Guy didn't even hesitate as he screwed his eyes shut and covered his eyes with his hands, "Sure!"

Kagome's eyebrows raised in surprise at his willingness but proceeded to start healing him. The reason she wanted to do this out of the way was she glowed slightly when she used her Ki. This was something new to her. In the feudal era, the only times she glowed was when she would supercharge her attacks with her emotions. Now it happened every single time she used her Ki, it was definitely something to work on. She sensed Minato coming up behind her but didn't stop. She had healed him a few times already from the failed attempts at his new jutsu.

She stopped a few minutes later once his ankle was completely fixed, she also healed most of his bruises, "There you go Guy, you can open your eyes now."

Guy's eyes popped open and a huge smile split his face. He could clearly already feel the change as he jumped off the bench in excitement, "Wow Kagome, you're amazing! I feel so much better."

"It was no problem; just don't tell anybody and we'll be even kay?"

"Deal! It'll be our secret."

"Listen if you get hurt and you are able to make it here, I'll help you out again. I really don't mind." She grabbed the snack tray from Minato and held it out to him, "Do you want something to eat?"

Guy's eyes practically shined, "First you helped me, then you made me feel better, and now you're sharing food… this means we're friends, right?!"

Kagome lowered the tray in slight shock, she hadn't even thought about it. Avoiding other kids had become so natural to her that she had practically given up on the notion of gaining friends around her own age. She shifted nervously and did her best to ignore Minato's chuckling behind her, "Oh, um…." She hesitated without really meaning to.

Guy deflated, "No? That's okay, the other kids said no too."

Determined anger burned in her eyes, "No! I mean yes. Yes, I'll be your friend. Sorry, I'm really new here and I don't know many people. I'm not really good with new people, but I'll try my best."

Guy jumped in excitement once again, "All right! I have made my first real friend. Not only that but she is a great fighter, we can grow strong together."

Kagome flinched as she heard Minato clear his throat in warning. She turned around to see him with his arms crossed and giving her a stern look, "A good fighter?"

"Wait Minato, let me explain," Kagome answered quickly.

Guy interrupted them, completely missing the mod, "It was so awesome. She jumped in out of nowhere and she was so cool. She stopped all of their attacks with no problem. Then BAM! All three boys were on the ground. It was like pow, pow, pow! So cool, I wanna be able to fight like that."

"Kagome," Minato said slowly, in warning. Honestly, she just got let off of probation today and she was already picking fights. Three whole months of keeping her temper in check outside of the house and minding her own business. That all goes out the window the moment she gets a taste of freedom.

"There were three older boys, around eleven or twelve years old, were bullying Guy. They were beating him up in an alley and I will never ignore people being bullied or people in need of help. I just won't, and I won't say sorry either." She said determinedly. She grabbed a few snacks off the tray before shoving it back at Minato with a glare daring him to fight her on this. This is one thing he will never win on.

"Fine, fine. You win. Have fun with your new friend." Minato said in a resigned tone. How was it that he always seemed to be losing arguments to a seven-year-old?

The next couple hours were fun, Guy and herself playing ninja, which was kinda weird but it was fun. She then walked Guy back home, to make sure the boys weren't waiting for him somewhere. She met his dad; he was a unique one that was for sure. He thanked her for bringing his son back home and she headed back.

Minato was waiting for her when she got back and they sat down in the living room and they had a long conversation. She was to tell him anytime she got into a fight and why so he could tell the Hokage that she wasn't picking fights just because. In return, he'd bump up his training with her so she didn't get hurt.

Kagome rolled her eyes as she got ready for bed, she was willing to bet that Minato wasn't even near ready to go to bed yet. He always stayed up hours after she went to bed and he always wondered why she woke up earlier than him. She was determined to change that tonight. The past couple of days Minato had seemed exhausted, he was getting desperate to get his jutsu to work. So, with a smirk on her face, as she put her pajamas on, she started her plan. Ever since the night that Minato let her sleep with him, she had gone to him after a few different nightmares. Plus, she had found out she was embarrassingly afraid of thunderstorms once again. It was something she had grown out of when she turned twelve. It was really annoying the gain her old childhood fears back, but she was learning to get around those.

She grabbed her stuffed rabbit and made her way into the kitchen, just like she suspected Minato's face was stuffed in his scrolls and books to find out where his jutsu was going wrong. Kagome readied herself for the incoming fight and strolled up to Minato.

"I'm heading to bed Minato."

"Alright, sleep well," Minato answered without even looking up.

Kagome grabbed onto Minato's arm and pulled slightly, "Come on Minato you need to get to bed too, let's have a sleepover."

Minato paused for a moment, "A sleepover?"

"Yeah, you need some sleep and it looks like there might be a thunderstorm tonight. So, let's have a sleepover, please Minato." She gave him a big pout, folded her hands together, and delivered her best puppy dog eyes.

"I don't know Kagome; I have a lot to figure out with this jutsu. I swear everything is correct, I don't know why it won't work."

"Ugh, give your brain a break. Go to bed early for one day and maybe you'll find something you haven't seen before. Please Minato, Please." Kagome practically begged.

Just then a huge crack of thunder sounded across the sky and Kagome jumped and clung to Minato's arm. Minato gave a sigh of defeat and stood up, "Alright, sleepover." A smirk crossed his face, "Go into the closet across from the bedroom next to you, and grab as many blankets as you can. If we are having a sleepover, we have to do it properly."

"Properly?" Kagome asked with a head tilt.

"You'll see. You get the blankets and I'll grab everything else. Meet back in my room." Minato grinned at her before making a couple of clones and dispersing. Kagome watched after him, a bit lost, before heading to the closet to grab the requested blankets. She jumped slightly as thunder cracked across the sky once again, hugging her rabbit to her tightly. She really, really hoped that she learned to get over this fear sooner than she did the first time. Honestly, she had slept out in the open during thunderstorms all the time in the feudal era. It wasn't like they could always find somewhere to stay every time there a storm. Even if they were near a village, there were not many places that allowed demons or half-demons inside their Inns. People were such discriminatory bastards back then, though that never really changed. Discrimination changed from demons to different races over the years. She couldn't understand people's racism, to her everyone had one thing or another in common. Everyone bleeds red, even demons.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and grabbed as many blankets as she could. Why in the world did Minato even have so many blankets? There had to be like a dozen of them in here. She grabbed as many as she could and with how thick they were that was only like five of them. She was assuming Minato would want more so she dropped a couple on the floor and started kicking them towards Minato's room. When she got there, she saw the last clone disappear with a poof of smoke. Kagome's eyes grew wide as she saw what Minato had put together. A fort. Minato had built a fort on the floor of his room. Pillows and even more blankets were everywhere. Kagome dropped the blankets on top of the ones she had kicked into the room.

"Why do you have so many blankets?" Kagome asked for a lack of other things to ask.

Minato shrugged, "It gets cold in the winter."

"Weirdo." Kagome teased.

Minato nudged her slightly as he picked up a few of the blankets, "Come on, help me finish."

"How many times have you built a fort?" Kagome asked as she draped a blanket over the top. She wasn't judging him or anything, but building blanket forts were more of a girl thing than a boy thing.

"Not many, my mom died when I was four. I don't really remember her much but what I do remember is that she liked to make little forts to sleep in every once in a while. I remember her warmth, and forts like these help me feel her warmth." Minato explained as he finished setting up the fort, "I haven't made too many of these throughout the years but I'll throw one together every once in a while."

Kagome stared at him with wide eyes. He had never talked about his family before, besides saying that his dad died three years ago. She didn't know what made her say it but she suddenly said in a quiet tone, "My mom used to make me a cup of hot chocolate on the nights I couldn't sleep. Mama made the best cup of hot chocolate I've ever had; nobody could make it better. I continued the tradition with Sota after he was born."

"Who was Sota?" Minato asked slowly, carefully. Just like he never talked about his family, she had never uttered a word about hers. All he had gotten out of her was that she missed them. And that had been released on a nightmare induced shock.

Kagome froze, wanting to stop this conversation in its track. Then she remembered that she wanted to start telling him about her past, which included her little brother. She let out a sigh as she snuggled into one of the many pillows surrounding them, "Sota was my little brother. After Daddy died Mama had to start working nights to keep supporting us. I started helping Mama take care of Sota."

"What about Kikyo?" Minato asked. He only knew about her from the report from the Hokage.

"Oh, uh Kikyo had a lot on her plate protecting the jewel." Kagome lied as she fingered her necklace. She really hated lying but until she decided to tell him the whole truth, she would have to keep it up.

They spent the next couple of minutes talking before falling asleep. Kagome barely noticed the thunderstorm outside. The next morning, she woke up snuggled right next to Minato. It was with the dawn, like normal, and before Minato also like normal. She got up carefully as to not wake up Minato and made her way to the kitchen to make breakfast. She got things cooking as her eyes drifted to the table. Minato didn't put his scrolls away like he normally did. She kinda got what he was trying to do from watching him practice, but maybe looking over his notes and research would help more. She made sure nothing was close to burning before she climbed up on the chair and started looking over his work. To her surprise it was mainly based on Fuinjutsu, she had looked a lot into that when she first found out about it. It reminded her a lot of her sutras; she had been wondering if she could mix the two in the future. She read something that made her brain really start working just as she felt Minato's aura switch from asleep to awake. She shimmied off the chair and back to finish making breakfast.

During breakfast, Minato brought up his plans for the day, which included going out to practice his new jutsu.

"Can I come with?" she asked quickly, she wanted to really watch this time. Maybe finally figure out what was going wrong with his Fuinjutsu. While she didn't have any experience with Fuinjutsu she had plenty of experience with her sutras. That was one of the main things that Miroku made sure that she had down. Sutras didn't need a whole lot of control to activate, though the more control one had the stronger the sutra. She was looking forward to watching this practice with new eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

Kagome stifled a laugh as Minato face planted into yet another tree. Kagome looked down at weapon Minato was trying to combine with Fuinjutsu. It was a three-pronged kunai with the Fuinjutsu tag wrapped around the hilt. From what she had read this morning he was trying to reproduce results made by the second Hokage. Basically, it was teleportation, how crazy was that? However, the second Hokage never wrote down exactly how he was able to do it. Other than needing their own personalized seal, which Minato had made and attached to the kunai.

Kagome had an idea, "Hey dork, come here." She called out to Minato as she stood up. It looked like all of his equations were correct, from what she could tell anyway. She was by no means an expert on Fuinjutsu, but sutras she did know. And some of the higher-powered sutras needed a bit of an extra boost.

Minato practically had a pout on his face as he made his way over to Kagome, "Sorry you have to keep healing me."

"It's no problem, lets my Ki get some exercise. Sit down, I want to show you something." Kagome said, "Well, uh, after I heal you." She snickered. He already had a black eye and his nose looked broken. He had kissed that last tree hard. Minato always activated a small privacy seal when he practiced. It would alert him immediately if anyone would try and interrupt them. So, she didn't have to be afraid of being found out when using her abilities out here. Minato would let her know if anyone was close. She searched quickly for any auras close to her, and when she only detected Minato's and herself, she activated her healing ability started healing her idiot brother. Always better safe than sorry. Yes brother, she thought of Minato as her brother. Only inside her mind though, she wouldn't inflate his ego any more than it already was by calling him brother first. She had to really watch herself when she spoke to him lately, it was becoming almost natural to want to call him Minato-Nii.

"What did you want to show me Gome?" he asked ignoring her laughter.

"Right, this is another of those things that Hokage-sama already knows and you can't tell anybody. Promise?"

"Of course."

"Good, give me two of your blank sealing papers, an inkwell, and a separate ink dish."

"Well, aren't you being demanding this morning." Minato teased.

"Come on, I think this may help you with your tree-hugging problem." Kagome gave him a look, why was he being so annoying today? He was in an overly good mood. Was it because of the fort sleepover last night? He did hand over the requested items though.

"Thanks." She quickly drew the sutra for binding, this was a normal binding. It would freeze the recipient it was placed on. Though these worked better on demons than normal humans. However, someone with enough power would be able to break it.

Without any warning, she plastered her sutra to Minato's forehead. With a flash of her power, it stuck there, effectively freezing him. She saw his eyes go wide in a type of panic as he realized that he couldn't move.

"Right about now you'll realize you can't move any of your muscles. What I just used is a basic binding sutra. Anyone from my village that had Ki was able to use them. However, if you flare your chakra, you'll most likely be able to break it." Kagome talked him through it.

Minato did just that, he sharply flared his chakra and the paper ripped. Effectively freeing him from the binding. He ripped off the rest of the sutra off of his forehead and stared at her with wide eyes, "How did you do that?" that felt like being under the effects of the Nara family jutsu, only no shadows. Just a piece of paper. That was low key terrifying.

"As I said, it was a sutra. Grandma Kaede and big brother Miroku taught me how to make them. I'm able to do a whole bunch of things with them. With the one I just made it makes it so whomever I place it on can't move. It's a pretty basic one, one of the first ones I learned how to make actually. As you can probably tell it doesn't take much to break one like that. However, if I do this." She dumped out a small amount of ink into one of the dishes he had brought along. Then she cut her fingertip and let her blood mix with the ink. She ignored Minato's shout of shock and easily healed her fingertip over to satisfy him.

She grabbed the second sheet he had given her and quickly wrote the binding sutra once again. This time Minato knew what was coming and offered his hand to her, "How about not using my forehead this time?"

"Fine, I got that habit from my grandpa. He'd do that to practically anyone." She placed the sutra onto his hand and with a flare of her Ki activated the sutra. Kagome smirked as Minato flared his chakra to break the sutra only to fail this time, "It's a lot stronger this time because my blood was mixed in with the ink. It will take quite a lot of power to break this one." What she wasn't going to tell him was it would take someone with more power than her own. Basically, that meant people on par with Sesshomaru and Naraku. She reached out and ripped off the sutra allowing him to move once again.

When Minato only looked at her with a face full of shock, she rolled her eyes, "Try adding your blood to the Fuinjutsu seals. Maybe your recipe is just looking for a specific DNA signature, aka you."

Minato's eyes lit up in excitement and scooped her up into a big hug, "Kagome you are an absolute genius! How had I not thought about that?" blood was normally only used for summoning jutsu, but for something like this it would be perfect. He set Kagome down and plopped onto the ground to write a new Fuinjutsu seal, this one mixed with his blood.

He waited a few minutes for it to dry before wrapping it around a new kunai and sealing it on. He threw it to a faraway tree and took a deep breath. He had been working almost half a year on this. If this was really all it took, he was going to be slightly annoyed. Honestly, how did he not think about this before? This was almost like a type of summoning; he was summoning himself. With a steadying breath, he activated his jutsu and for the first time ever it was successful. He stopped right before running into the tree. A huge grin split his face and he jumped up in excitement, "It finally worked!"

Kagome laughed happily, "Congrats."

With a happy sigh, Minato plopped onto the ground, "So, are you going to watch me train all day? Or, are you going to do some training of your own?"

A frown pulled at her lips, "I've been meaning to talk to you about this Minato. I am beyond serious when I say I want to become a kunoichi. I appreciate that you are helping me get better physically, but I can work on most of that by myself. If I am going to be a kunoichi I need to be able to use my chakra, do jutsu's, that stuff. When are you going to teach me how to use my chakra?" he had taught her how to fight, quite efficiently at this point. They had even moved onto weapons like kunai, senbon, and shuriken. She was doing her best to convince him she wanted to start training with a tanto as well. Sesshomaru had trained her a bit on how to use a sword, but a full sword would be a bit too long for her right now. Using and manipulating her chakra was what she had been looking forward to since she had left the hospital though. That was three months of her being extremely patient. Her chakra pool grew every day and she was itching to see what she could do with it.

Minato paused; it wasn't like he didn't want her to go through with being a kunoichi. He just wanted her to be safe. She had lost so much in such a short time, he just wanted her to have as normal a life as she possibly could from this point onward. In the back of his mind, he had been hoping that she would just choose to be a civilian, it was safer. He was okay with teaching her how to fight, that was basic self-defense. She did still possibly have a crazy kunoichi after her. She also had to protect that damned jewel that hung around her neck for the rest of her life, which he thought was beyond unfair. Wasn't the burden of the jewel enough for her? Why did she want to become a kunoichi so badly? Before he brought her here, she had never even heard of them. So why? He looked over at her and saw the burning determination in her eyes, she wasn't going to be giving the idea up. For some reason, this was extremely important to her.

His mind drifted back to one of the conversations he had with the Hokage about her. For someone so young, and new to the village, the Hokage held her in strangely high regard. He practically respected her, and how she gained that respect he had no idea. Minato had brought up the fact that Kagome had started thinking about wanting to become a kunoichi. The Hokage had nodded like he had expected nothing less.

"_Kagome-chan is not one who likes to be idle. She had a very tough life before coming here. Full of trial and hardship. Her friends and family were the only things pulling her through that time." He fell silent for a moment before continuing, "If she does indeed want to continue on her path to becoming a kunoichi, I want you to follow some guidelines. Kagome-chan is extremely smart and learns things very quickly."_

The Hokage had gone on to explain what he wanted him to do with Kagome. The new school year didn't start up for another few months. The newest batch of genin had just graduated not too long ago. He was to train Kagome hard just like she was a genin and he was her teacher. Then when the school year started up again, he would enroll her. She would have to attend the school for a year, at the minimum. Mainly so she could interact with children her age. Then if she passed a test she would be allowed to graduate early and become a genin.

Minato was really not looking forward to the whole graduating early part. He knew Kagome was smart. To be honest she probably already read all of the books from the last year of schooling requirement. She was a prodigy in the making. But he knew what being a prodigy did to people. They were forced to do things beyond someone their age should ever have to do, and usually became damaged in one way or another. He didn't want that to be her fate. He didn't want to see the bright, sunny, bossy, smart girl become closed off to her emotions and traumatized. So, he had been holding back on his training just a bit. Sure, he pushed her pretty hard during their sparring matches, but he had held back on putting weapons into the equation for a few weeks. She had been ready to implement them a lot faster than he had brought them in. She already had a pretty good basic fighting style before he had started teaching her anything.

If he started teaching how to control her chakra, which she really did have a lot of, it made things final. If he started teaching her, she would become a kunoichi. In a little over a year, she would be going out on missions. There was no going back after the next step. Why couldn't she just become a civilian? He would protect her, and even if he wasn't around, she already had a good system of others that could protect her.

He would be getting put back on the rotation for out of village missions within the week. He would need to find someone who was willing to watch her during the time that he was gone. Sometimes missions could take up to a month, if not longer. He knew Inoichi or Shikaku wouldn't mind watching her, but what if they had to go out on a mission also? He knew Kagome would complain and say she could take care of herself. Which he didn't really doubt, but he wasn't about to leave his seven-year-old little sister home alone. Yes, he thought of her as his little sister. He had been for over a month now. He just wasn't sure if she would be okay with allowing him that close. She had _just _lost her family. He didn't want to seem like he was trying to replace them. In fact, he had plans in place to officially adopt Kagome into the Namikaze clan by the end of the year. He would hold off until her year of having to stay within the village ended. After that point, she could theoretically decide she wanted to move out. Either out of his house or the village entirely. So, while he really wanted to claim her as his sister, he was holding off for now.

Back to the problem at hand though, his mind had gone on a bit of a tangent. Should he start teaching her how to use her chakra? By all means, she was ready. He could hold off for a bit yet, saying she needed to perfect her weaponry skills more. She needed to practice accuracy with kunai more. She was still rather abysmal with shuriken, she still had trouble holding them. She was scarily good with senbon already though. He would have thought that would be the hardest for her master, but she hit the bullseye nearly every time with them. He had set up dummy human and had her attack it with her senbon, she had hit many points on the body that would have either killed or incapacitated her enemy. She knew the human body extremely well. If he didn't know her so well, he would try to push her to become a med-nin. They weren't always on the front line and were a bit safer. Kagome wasn't one to stay on the sidelines, however. She was a fighter. She had expressed interest in learning how to use a tanto, he could push chakra lessons back by introducing that.

But that was just an excuse and he knew it. She was ready to start, and pushing lessons back would only hold her back. If he held off much longer, she was going to start getting antsy and he didn't put it past her to just go and find somebody else to teach her. He was already pretty sure that she and Shikaku did more than just take care of the deer when she went to visit. She could always ask either Shikaku or Inoichi to teach her, neither of them would probably say no. She had them practically wrapped around her finger. She also had a very strong connection with the Hokage, if all else failed she could probably go to him and he would find her a willing teacher. He didn't want her to be taught by someone else though. If he was going to go through with letting her become a kunoichi he wanted to know that she was being trained correctly. The only way he would know that was if he did that himself. And there it was, the answer he knew that he knew he would eventually get to. It was time to start seriously teaching her. He would push her to her limits, drag out her full potential. For if he didn't, he was scared of what would happen to her.

Minato let out a sigh, with how much natural chakra she had the first thing she would need to learn was control. Control was going to absolutely vital, or she would have trouble with the simpler jutsu's that he knew would be on the final test. Alright, first things first then.

"Okay, fine. You win, we'll start on chakra training today." Minato sighed out.

Kagome practically lit up, "Really!" she lunged and glomped Minato in a big hug, "Thank you Minato."

"We're going to be doing things a little out of order than the school usually teaches. This is something that is usually taught to genin that have just graduated by their teachers. I know that you've meditated and practiced focusing the chakra in your body. You have also read up extensively on the subject. So, we can skip those two. You can do more of that in your free time. What I want you to start practicing as of today, is to climb a tree."

Kagome's brow wrinkled in confusion, "Climb a tree? I've been climbing trees for years, that's not really a challenge."

Minato smirked, "I want you to climb a tree, without using your hands."

Kagome's eyes went wide, "Without my hands? How does that even work?"

"I'll show you once, but then you have to figure out the rest by yourself. Watch closely." Minato walked to the nearest tree and easily planted his foot on the trunk of it. Then with chakra control that was as easy as breathing nowadays took a step upwards. He easily and slowly walked vertically up the tree with his arms thrown behind his head in relaxation. He looked down to see Kagome's eyes widen in excitement and awe, "See, easy. Or at least it should become as easy as breathing if you want to have any basis in chakra control. You should eventually be able to do this as easily as breathing. Shinobi use this tactic in their everyday lives, to stick to branches as they jump through the treetops, traveling along rooftops, infiltration. Now, it's your turn. You don't want to use too little as you'll just slip right off, but you don't want to use too much or you'll completely destroy the tree. Balance is key, find the right amount to make you stick to the tree."

Kagome walked up to the tree and thought over what she needed to do. From what she had sensed when Minato had done it, all she had to do was direct her chakra to her feet. She had read that feet were the hardest part of the body to focus chakra into. Minato was right, he was doing things out of order. From what she had read people usually started with sticking leaves to themselves for as long as they could without shredding the leaf. This wasn't the hardest one either, from what Inoichi had told her she would eventually be able to walk on the surface of the water. How epic was that going to be? But first, she needed to get to the top of this tree.

"Getting a running start helps some people." Minato gave her the only hint he was going to give her. If she was going to do this, she was going to have to figure stuff on her own. Find her own answers, otherwise, she won't be able to think for herself later on. He threw a kunai down at her feet, "To mark your progress."

"Running start. Right." Kagome bent down to grab the kunai before taking a few steps back. She took a deep breath to steady herself before running towards the tree. She was going to start off low and work her way up to more. She didn't want to hurt the trees. As soon as her foot made contact with the tree she pushed upwards. A smile built on her face as she felt herself stick. She managed one more step before suddenly losing her grip and falling to the ground with an 'eep!' She managed to remember to mark her progress quickly with the kunai before she fell. She landed hard on her butt and a frown pulled at her lips. Okay, this was probably going to take a while.

Minato jumped down and started walking off, "Alright, we'll move onto something else as soon as you manage to master that. If you don't manage to get the hang of that, stop at lunchtime and come home. I'll send a clone to get you when it's time and lunch will be waiting for you. After lunch, we'll move onto weapons training. We'll see where we go on from there. Mornings will be dedicated to you climbing this tree until you get it down pat. Well, good luck Gome." With a quick wave goodbye, he disappeared into a bunch of leaves. He had some things he had to do. He needed to get a chakra paper, to see what nature release she had once she completed her challenge. He also needed to get some new equipment, weapons, proper fighting attire for Kagome, bandages, and possibly a practice tanto. He had to go inform the Hokage that Kagome was indeed serious about becoming a kunoichi and to enroll her for the next school year. Finally, he had a lot of Fuinjutsu tags to re-write only with a blood mark on them. His new jutsu was finally complete, maybe it was time to start on a new one. A completely new one this time, not just a lost art. There was an idea he had from the tailed beast's attacks, perhaps it was time to move onto that.

Kagome looked at the spot Minato disappeared in shock. He was leaving her, just like that? She glanced back at the tree, how was she going to do this exactly? She was learning a technique that most didn't learn until after they graduated. She was at an extreme disadvantage. Those kids had years of teaching and learning small tricks and practice on how to use their chakra. She had perfect control over her Ki, but she wasn't entirely sure how to perfectly channel her chakra. It wasn't something she had ever done before. She must have been on sort of the right path because her first step stuck. It had been the follow-up that had failed her. She wished that she had her books about chakra control with her. Something to point her in the right direction. At this rate, it was going to take weeks to get to the top of that stupid tree, and she refused to be stuck on something so trivial for so long. She was a fast learner, always had been as long as it wasn't math. The only thing she had been stuck on for a while in the feudal era was her archery skills, and honestly, most of that had probably been from Inuyasha always dissing her every time she tried.

With a steadying breath of determination, she dashed towards the tree once again. As they said, practice makes perfect. It seems that Minato was finally taking her seriously, especially with him excepting to teach her about her chakra and increasing their practice time. In the past, they had only practiced until lunch and then the rest of the day was hers to do with as she wanted. She wasn't going to waste this opportunity. She was going to show Minato that she was determined to become a kunoichi and she wasn't going to go back on that. She wanted to be able to protect people, especially the people that she cares about. To do that she had a lot of catching up to do. Most of her precious people were years older than her and she would more get in the way than anything. Sure, she could protect Guy. But she had only met him yesterday and he was two years younger than she was.

Kagome practiced without a break until Minato's clone appeared to tell her lunch was almost done before disappearing into a poof of smoke. Kagome fell to the ground, gasping for breath, tired beyond belief. She had made some progress, but not enough for her tastes. It was really starting to annoy her. How was it that she could stay sticking to the tree for like five steps, but then it suddenly cuts out and she plummets to the ground? One would think that once you made it that far you would be good the rest of the way. What was she doing wrong? With a sigh, she grabbed all of the stuff that Minato had left behind when he made his escape and headed back home. She would read up as much as she could on the subject tonight and try again tomorrow. She would get this, she had to.

Minato startled slightly as the memories of his clone came back to him. He was impressed, he really was. She had almost made it to the halfway point of the tree in one day with absolutely no prior practice. At the rate she was going she would probably have this mastered within the next couple days. She just needed to find her proper flow and be able to hold it for the long run. He had made a filling lunch with a good number of calories. She must have burned through a lot today and she needed to refill. With a start of realization, he realized that he had more homemade meals since he took in Kagome since the year his dad died. It was troublesome to only cook for one, but now that there were two of them it was worth it.

As Kagome walked through the door Minato had to hide his laughter, she looked absolutely exhausted. Not that he blamed her with it being the first time ever using her chakra beyond her kekkei genkai which seemed to come to her naturally.

"Why don't you go take a quick shower before we have lunch." Minato offered.

Kagome nodded wordlessly with a yawn as she walked past him. She couldn't believe how tired trying to use her chakra made her. She never really had this problem with her Ki. She had her days where she would be tired, but those usually occurred when they had a big or long fight. She happily warmed up her tired muscles, from constantly falling to the ground, under the hot water. She kept it short since she knew that Minato would have lunch done soon and she didn't want to make him wait.

As she plopped herself down at the kitchen table, she turned her attention onto Minato as he started talking, "Despite what you may be thinking, you did really well today."

Kagome glanced up at him, "How do you know?"

"Oh, have I never told you? My clones are different from most. I use shadow clones. They are solid compared to normal clones, and I get the memories from them once they disappear."

"Ah, your clone looked to see how high my best mark was before he disappeared."

"Yup, I asked him to before he left. I wanted to see how much progress you made. You made it about to the point it would take a genin the entire day to make. You'll get there in no time at this rate." He complimented her. He wasn't lying either. His teammates had tried to climb their trees for practically the entire day and barely made it to the point she had made. His dad had shown him how to do it prior to Jiraiya teaching them.

He cleared his throat before starting to fill up his plate, "Alright, let's eat up and then get back out there. We'll keep this pace up for the rest of the week and then I'll see where we stand. Deal?"

Kagome nodded as she followed his lead and grabbing food, "Deal."

Minato's mind drifted as he ate. He wasn't sure how well Kagome was going to take the news that she would have to attend the school. He knew that she was hoping to get around that, and the Hokage was certainly helping her in that regard. He had noticed her avoidance of other kids recently and had been troubled by it. He was worried that she was already starting to distance herself. He realized that wasn't true yesterday when she brought that Guy kid home. He still wasn't sure why she was keeping away from other kids, but he hoped her meeting Guy would put a stop to that. Once she graduated, which he knew she would, he wondered what kind of team she would be put on. It wasn't unheard of, but it was strange to have a kid so much younger than the others on the same team. It was more likely that she would be pushed towards a certain type of specialization. Then once she got a bit older, she could be put on a team with others. He was really hoping she wouldn't catch the notice of the wrong type. He had heard rumors of kids with exceptional talent being recruited to a secret section of Konoha. He also didn't want her dragged into Anbu too soon. While he could see her talent simmering and waiting to bloom, she also deserved a childhood. One that at this rate wasn't going to last as long as he was hoping it would.

Well, it was his job to make sure she was ready for the trails she was soon going to be facing. She was going to make enemies, prodigies always did. While they always had admirers, they also had the jealous people as well. He was going to have to keep both away from his little sister. Until the school year started up, he was going to have a lot on his plate. It was a challenge he was not going to take lightly.


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the short chapter, but I couldn't figure out how to transition into the next part without it sounding really crappy. Enjoy the chapter!**

Kagome shifted uneasily as she was firmly placed between Inoichi and Shikaku at the main gate. She was slightly nervous, not really understanding why she was here. Apparently, their teammate was finally coming back from a two-month-long mission. She hadn't been able to meet Choza before he headed out on his mission and Inoichi seemed really excited to introduce the two of them. To pass the time Kagome looked with interest outside of the gates. She had never been to this side of town before, she didn't want it to seem like she had been thinking of escaping. So, because of that, she had never been to the gates before. She had never seen what laid beyond Konoha. The answer was trees. Lots of trees. The books she had read had definitely not been wrong. Konoha was hidden somewhere in the middle of a large forest. She was itching to be able to leave the gates and explore the forest. It looked as dense as the forests in the feudal era and she was looking forward to relaxing in the semi-familiar place.

"Ah, here they come!" Inoichi exclaimed happily. He had been wanting to introduce Kagome to their final team member for a while. He had introduced her to Shikaku first because he had the most potential to help her out. By the time he wanted to introduce her to Choza as well, he had been deployed on a long-term mission.

"Why did we have to wait for him at the gate?" Shikaku sighed from his position leaning on the post.

"Because I want to go to Yakiniku Q and have lunch together. Kagome and Choza can meet. Come on Shikaku, my treat." Inoichi playfully pouted at him, causing Kagome to giggle in amusement. She had seen Inoichi around others and he was much more stoic and serious. Around people that he trusted and cared about he would turn into a five-year-old.

"Do they have good food there?" Kagome asked calmly as she leaned up against Shikaku. He let out a little huff but didn't say anything otherwise. She hadn't gone out to eat much since she got here. Minato and herself had gone to a ramen place a couple of times, but other than that they made their own food more. It was healthier and it gave them more time together.

"You haven't been there yet?" Inoichi asked in astonishment.

"Nope, don't really eat out all that much."

Inoichi grinned over to Shikaku, "See Kagome hasn't been over there yet. Even more of a reason to go."

"Fine, whatever." Shikaku groaned.

"Yay." Inoichi and Kagome cheered together.

A few minutes later Choza and his group made it to the gate. He smiled happily at his two friends, "Hey guys, what are you doing here?"

Kagome glanced at the large man curiously. He had purple wavy stripes on his cheeks and for a moment Kagome's breath caught. They reminded her so vividly of Sesshomaru's markings. She violently shook those thoughts away.

"You've been gone for a while; thought I'd treat you to lunch," Inoichi said.

Choza gave a large grin, "Sounds great, I'm starving." Then something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. There was a small girl leaning up against Shikaku. He had never seen her before, who was she? He sent a questioning look to his lazy friend.

Shikaku sighed, "This is Kagome, she's around a lot now."

Kagome elbowed him in the stomach and he gave a grunt of pain, "Don't say that like I'm a pain you jerk."

"You are a pain." Shikaku teased, rubbing his stomach.

Choza moved his questioning gaze to Inoichi, he hadn't really answered who she was. Did Shikaku take on a ward or something?

"She's Minato Namikaze's new little sister," Inoichi answered.

"I am not his little sister." Kagome tried to bluff.

"Yes, you are." Both Inoichi and Shikaku chorused together.

Kagome blushed in both embarrassment and anger, "You both are jerks."

Choza chuckled in amusement, whoever she was she got along well with both of his best friends. Shikaku was even doing more than just tolerating her, he was actually being playful with her. Shikaku did not just let anybody lean upon him or playfully hit him. He didn't let anybody that close to him unless he trusted them. How did this kid get that close to his friends in just a few months?

"Nice to meet you Kagome-chan." Choza greeted amicably.

"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you too. Inoichi and Shikaku talked a lot about you." Kagome said. She had dropped suffixes with those two a couple of weeks ago. The past few weeks had been draining. She had mastered the tree climbing technique by the end of the second day. She probably would have had it sooner, but she only had until lunch to practice. After that, she moved onto different things that would last the rest of the day. He had moved her onto other school-level jutsus. Substitution, basic clone, henging, and a few other. Recently she had also started training with Guy. Nothing too major, pretty much just warm-ups. Oh Boy was her friend able to just keep going. He had endless energy and it actually helped her push past her limits at times. Today had been her first day off since Minato started taking her seriously. He had gotten summoned to the Hokage last night so he had given her the day off. She had been looking forward to a lazy day when Inoichi had suddenly shown up and snatched her away.

With a sigh from Shikaku, she was brought back to the present. He grabbed her hand and started dragging her away, shocking Choza. Shikaku knew how touchy-feely Kagome was so he didn't mind entertaining her need for physical contact. He had gotten used to it actually. To Choza it was beyond bizarre that Shikaku initiated contact with anyone. It wasn't that he hated being touched, but he did usually seem to avoid it.

"Come on, let's get going," Shikaku said.

"Coming, coming." Inoichi laughed as he followed along.

Choza followed after his two friends and the new little add-on. He was interested to get to know and see how someone about ten years younger than them got so close to his friends. He didn't mind, but it was an odd friendship.

A few minutes later they made it to their favorite restaurant. They were seated and ordered their usual with a bit extra for Kagome. Eventually, they settled down. Choza and Inoichi were on one side of the table with Shikaku and Kagome on the other. The three old friends fell into a comfortable chatter for a while. Kagome watched in amusement as friendly banter started passing between them.

After a while, Choza turned his attention back onto Kagome, "So, Kagome-chan, how did you become Minato's little sister?"

The other three at the table fell silent for a moment, sharing a look, "Um… my village was destroyed and he rescued me and brought me here. Minato requested to house me after that and Hokage-sama agreed to it." She finally answered simply.

Choza's eyes went wide in shock and pity, "I am so sorry." He glanced at his two friends and a slight confusion filled him, neither of them looked particularly sad. Kagome herself seemed more awkward than sad as well, but he would let them keep whatever secrets they wanted to, "How did you meet these two then?"

Kagome lit up slightly at an easier topic of conversation, "Inoichi did a mind-walk to me, to clear me to be able to stay in the village. He continued to visit me at the hospital after that. After I got sent to live with Minato, Inoichi introduced me to Shikaku." She leaned up against Shikaku playfully, "Now he ropes me into helping him with the deer herd whenever he's on the schedule."

Shikaku pushed her away as he rolled his eyes, "I don't rope you into anything. You come willingly now kid."

"The deer let her close?" Choza asked in slight wonder. The deer hardly let anyone new close. It took years of him being on a team with Shikaku before the deer actually let him be around.

Shikaku chuckled lowly, "Oh yeah, they love her."

"They've both been helping me learn shinobi skills as well recently," Kagome added on.

Choza was becoming more and more confused as this conversation went on. Shikaku was helping train somebody? Even Inoichi never even showed interest in training somebody. What was going on? Who was this kid?

"Yup, Shikaku has been helping her train her mind while I've been helping her with the basics. Minato is her main teacher and he's doing a marvelous job. When she has a bit of free time, I'll help her out with some Taijutsu or weapons training." Inoichi explained proudly. While she was definitely was Minato's little sister, she had also become a little sister to both himself and Shikaku.

"Are you going to attend the academy when it starts up again then Kagome-chan?" Choza asked curiously.

Shikaku chuckled lowly while Inoichi didn't bother holding in his laughter. They had heard all of her complaints about going to school the past week or so since Minato had dropped the bomb that she was going to have to go. Choza looked at the two in confusion. This had to be the most confusing lunch he ever had.

Kagome collapsed onto the table in a type of defeat, "Unfortunately." There was no way out of it as it was a decision made by the Hokage. She had really been holding out for just training really hard and then taking a test to pass right into being a genin. But no, the Hokage wanted her to attend the school for a whole year. His main goal was for her to be around other kids her age and to forge connections for the future. She didn't really think that was altogether necessary, but she couldn't exactly argue with the Hokage.

"Oh, do you not want to become a kunoichi?" maybe he had misread the conversation? He didn't think that Minato would force someone to become a shinobi, he wasn't that kind of guy.

"No, no I do. I really want to be one. I just don't want to go to school, it's just going to be an annoyance."

Choza chuckled lightly, now he understood what his two friends found amusing, "Well if you want to become a kunoichi, going to the academy is kinda required." At least he now sort-of understood why those two were helping her train. Once she started at the academy, she would be two years behind all of the other kids. On the other hand, however, the academy didn't really start training any of the kids until the year she was going to be going into.

"I know," Kagome whined.

They drifted off into a nice conversation after that, this time Kagome added to the conversation instead of just listening. After another half-hour, they finally finished up and headed out. They pointed themselves in the direction of the Namikaze district with the intention of dropping Kagome off back home. They were almost back to the district when they ran into Minato.

Minato went from feeling slightly stressed to practically relieved when he saw Kagome with the three older ninjas. This was perfect, he thought as he jogged over to them.

"Inoichi, I have a huge favor to ask," Minato said bluntly as he stopped in front of them.

"Okay?" Inoichi answered slowly, "What do you need?"

"Is your offer to babysit still valid?"

A smile formed on Inoichi's face as he glanced down to the girl who was now glaring at him, "Of course it is."

"Perfect, thank you in advance. I have a mission in the hidden cloud so it's going to take about two weeks. Is that going to be alright?"

"Hey, wait." Kagome shouted, "I can take care of myself thank you very much. I don't need a babysitter, I'll be fine."

Minato sent her a disappointed frown, "Yeah I don't think so. I know very well that you are more independent than the normal seven-year-old but I am not letting you stay by yourself. Not only that, but there is always the underlying threat of Midoriko. I'm not taking that risk, so sorry but you are going to be staying with someone."

Kagome frowned in irritation, that was a low blow threatening her with Midoriko. If Midoriko did decide to attack again it wasn't like her being around someone else would help her. All they would be able to do is watch helplessly as she got attacked. She gave a sigh of defeat, "Fine, whatever." She grumbled. Maybe Inoichi could help her with a new jutsu or something while Minato was gone. School started up in less than two months now, and she wanted to be able to perform so well that she only had to attend one year. She didn't care if she was setting herself up to look like a prodigy, she wanted to start helping people again. She was starting to get antsy.

Minato gave a sigh of relief at her quick surrender; he had been ready for this to be an entire battle. He really did have to get going though, this was a time-sensitive mission. He knelt down and pulled her into a hug, "You stay out of trouble you hear me? No alley-way fights while I'm gone." He teased.

Kagome blushed when she heard Inoichi laugh at the new information, "That was one time!" she exclaimed.

"One time too many I say." Minato mumbled before letting her go, "I'll be back in hopefully two weeks, three weeks tops. Stay safe and keep up with your training. I don't want to come back and see that all of my hard work was for nothing." He warned her.

"I'll keep training, promise. But you have to promise that you'll come back safely." Kagome bartered.

Minato smirked and held out his pinky finger, "Pinky promise." It wasn't like he had been sloppy on missions before, but now he had a new purpose. He had someone to come home to, to fight for. He wasn't about to let her down.

A large grin split Kagome's face as she linked pinkies with him, she was glad to know that pinkie swears were still a thing in this world. It was something she did with Sota all of the time.

Minato was about to head out before he remembered something. He dug into his pouch and handed one of his three-pronged kunai to her. He gave her a wink as she grabbed it, "Just for emergencies. I'll always be able to get to you." Nobody really knew that he had recreated the second Hokage's jutsu yet. He was saving it for tight situations for now.

"Thanks." She said softly as she held the kunai tight. A sense of worry was building up in her, she hadn't really been apart from Minato since she had gotten here almost four months ago. Reality suddenly hit her; she has almost been in this world five months already. Nearly half a year had passed since Midoriko's attack. That was crazy to think about.

"See you soon," Minato said before he took off towards the main gate. He had already gone home to pack essentials. He had been a bit worried about where Kagome was when he had found the house empty, but he had found a note on the kitchen table saying that Inoichi had kidnapped her for the day. He had been about the hone into her chakra signature, which was more unique than any other he has ever sensed, when he saw them heading towards him. He really hoped that everything was going to go smoothly while he was gone. With a new determination that he hadn't felt since his dad was alive, he took off to start his mission.

As soon as Minato was out of sight Kagome turned to look at Inoichi, "So, I can just go home right?"

"Of course," Inoichi said with a devious grin.

"Inoichi, really?" Choza said in a disappointed tone.

"Really!" Kagome asked excitedly at the same time.

"Well, yeah. We need to get your stuff for the next couple of weeks." Inoichi said happily.

Kagome deflated, "Oh come one. I don't need a babysitter." She tried arguing.

"This is nonnegotiable Kagome, sorry," Inoichi said as he pointed her towards her house and made her start walking. An idea popped into his mind as they all walked towards the Namikaze head house. He caught Shikaku's eyes and winked playfully, "Why don't we make it a team-building experience. We can have a sleepover at our houses, on a rotation." He knew that Kagome did just fine working in a group, all of her time in the feudal era was proof of that. However, this could be a good chance for her to learn about Konoha's teamwork.

Shikaku shrugged, "Works for me."

"You want me to join in?" Choza asked warily. Would the kid even be comfortable around him? They had just met about an hour ago.

"If we're actually doing this, why not?" Kagome was the one that answered.

A few minutes later Kagome let them into the house as she made her way to her bedroom to pack a bag. Choza was looking around in a type of wonder. He had never been in the Namikaze district before, much less the head house. It was a nice and homey feeling district, nothing like the Hyuga clan.

"Do I get to see the famous room." Shikaku teased.

Kagome paused slightly as she glared lightly at him before sighing, "I guess."

"What room?" Choza asked carefully.

"My bedroom. I had a long fight with Minato because he completely renovated my room strictly against my wishes. It took me a while to get over it." She told him as she let them into her room.

"Why were you angry about a room?" Choza asked and immediately regretted when Shikaku chuckled quietly.

"It was enough to take me in; he didn't have to spend so much money on me as well. I'm over it now, but it was really annoying at the time." Kagome explained as she dug through her closet for what clothes she wanted to bring.

"Make sure you pack some clothes to train in," Inoichi warned her. Kagome nodded her agreement as she went to grab a few training outfits. Inoichi already had planned training exercises they could do while Minato was gone. It wasn't like Minato went super easy on her, but he did hold back because of her age. Neither Shikaku nor himself would have that handicap. They could push her past her limits. He already knew that he wanted the three of them to attack her at once and have her avoid and defend herself. A devious grin appeared on his face, oh yeah, the next couple of weeks were going to be fun.


	10. Chapter 10

Kushina Uzumaki was not having a very good week. First of all, she had gotten what seemed like a series of really crappy missions. Secondly, the Kyuubi has been extremely restless recently. And lastly, which she will never admit out loud, she was kind of disappointed that Minto was out for a longer mission.

She was currently on her way to do a thing she never thought she would catch herself doing. She was on her way to spy on a child, a child! Honestly, the kid couldn't be any older than eight. And why was she going to be spying on some poor random kid? The Kyuubi will not leave her alone, so she's humoring him. For some weird reason, the dumb fox has formed an unreasonable obsession with this random kid. He had told her that he sensed something from her that should be impossible. She had finally gotten him to admit that he sensed the Sage of Six Path's chakra coming off of the girl. He had only told her that because she said she wouldn't go near the girl unless he told her what was going on. She had finally gotten the general routine she was on, and right about now she should be starting training. She had no idea why the kid decided to train in one of the official training grounds instead of a monitored one like at the school. So, all she had to do was completely hide her chakra and spy on the girl for the day. Hopefully, that would satisfy the Kyuubi enough for him to leave her alone.

As she walked towards the training ground usually reserved for the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka clans her mind started to wander. Without her really meaning to her mind focused on Minato. She hadn't gotten to see him too much in the past few months. He usually only managed to sit down with her about twice a week, which is significantly less than his every day stalking tendencies. Whenever they did get a chance to hang out and talk it was never for long, and he always seemed distracted. Like he had something else to do. He has seemed much happier than he had been and she wondered why that was. Had he found a girlfriend or something? With a determined shake of her head, she got her mind off that annoying blond idiot. She was getting close to the training grounds so she had to focus now.

Kushina pulled her chakra as tightly as she could, suppressing it almost entirely. Only a tracking ninja that was looking for her would be able to find her now. She stealthily made her way as close as she dared to the girl. To her surprise, she wasn't there alone. No; Inoichi, Shikaku, and Choza were all there with her. In fact, it looked like it was currently three against one. Boys against the girl. She silently watched for a few minutes just to try and figure out what was going on. Why were those three training this kid so hard? The way they were training her was more along the lines of a genin or even a chunin. Eventually, Inoichi got in a good kick and sent the kid flying. That seemed to be the sign of break time.

The kid sat up with a groan, "You guys are so mean. I'm pretty sure this isn't what he had in mind when he told me to keep training."

Shikaku chuckled quietly as Inoichi helped her up, "Come on Gome, you almost lasted five minutes that time. Don't quit now."

She pouted, "I'm not quitting, I just need a break." She rubbed her stomach and winced slightly, "That kick really hurt."

"Why don't you heal yourself up a bit Kagome?" Choza suggested. He had been told of her kekkei genkai and fake backstory, but nothing else.

"I think that's a good idea, is anybody around?" Kagome asked as she cast around for any close auras.

Kushina was hidden well enough that they weren't able to sense her, the Kyuubi might have helped cloak them a bit. He wanted to know why this kid had the same feeling as his father did.

"Nope, I don't sense anyone. Go for it Kagome." Shikaku drawled.

Kagome nodded and held her hands over her stomach. Suddenly the girl started glowing a light pink. After about a minute the glow died down and Kagome stood up straight.

"There, all better. Are we going to go again?" Kagome asked, getting into a battle-ready position just in case the answer was going to be yes.

"We're going to try something a bit different," Choza said as he went to go set up the weapons equipment for later.

"Different how?" Kagome asked warily.

"Ever played the game, keep away?" Inoichi asked with a no-good smirk on his face.

"Possibly?"

"Good. You are the target and you need to keep away from the incoming attacks for as long as you can." Inoichi said with a happy smile on his face.

Kagome glared at him already not liking how this was sounding, "I hate you. You've gone power crazy."

"Mwahahaha." Inoichi laughed out playfully.

Kagome sighed as she did some light stretches, "Alright, I'll bite. What am I avoiding then?"

"Shikaku," Inoichi said simply as he walked over to help Choza out.

"Wait, what?" Kagome shouted and Kushina readily agreed with her. Shikaku was a pretty nice guy in general terms, but when he got serious, he was a force to reckon with. She didn't have time to say anything else as she had to dodge a shadow coming at her. She let out a small 'eep' as a second one came from the other side. Before she knew it, she was being relentlessly hunted down by Shikaku's shadows, "How is this in any way fair?!" she shouted out as she dived out of the way of one, only to transition into a summersault to avoid another.

"Whoever said being a kunoichi was going to be fair?" Shikaku asked lazily as he directed the shadows.

"I've changed my mind, it's Shikaku who's the biggest jerk. Cho…" she got cut off as she had to dodge and avoid three simultaneous shadows. When she finally got a slight moment to continue, she did, "Choza is my new favorite!" she shouted out hotly.

All she got in reply was Inoichi laughing at her and Choza going slightly red in the face. Shikaku was simply ignoring her.

Kushina was extremely impressed with this kid. She was a prodigy, she had to be with the skills she was presenting. She had managed to dodge Shikaku's shadows for ten minutes before becoming too tired to keep up with them. Obviously Shikaku had been going easy on her, but that was still extremely impressive to last that long. Some of those dodges had been flawless and seemingly unconscious for her to do. Like it was second nature for her. They had given her a small water break so she could rehydrate and catch her breath. Then it had been straight back into physical training. They had kept that up for around two hours before transitioning into weapons training. She was scarily good with senbon, and kunai was not far behind. She wasn't the best with shuriken, but Kushina could see the potential behind the throws. Once the kid found her own way of throwing them, she would be just as good with those.

When they moved onto jutsu training Kushina's jaw dropped. Why in the world were they training someone so young how to do jutsu? Small chakra training she could see, but not jutsu. Kids at the academy didn't learn to do jutsu until their last year. She watched as the girl flawlessly walked up a tree with no problem. How much chakra control did the kid already have?

The training lasted hours, nearly all day in fact. She couldn't believe that they pushed her that hard for that long. How did the kid not get completely burned out? How large was her chakra pool? Kushina watched them pack up and head home. There was no way she could follow them anymore. They were all staying at Inoichi's house for some reason and she would never be able to sneak into the Yamanaka district.

Once she was sure that they were gone and she wouldn't get caught snooping she got out of her hiding spot and started making her way back into town. She felt her stomach rumble and changed her direction from home to Ichiraku Ramen. They were a pretty new place but they had quickly made it to her favorite place to get ramen. She didn't feel like cooking tonight, there was too much on her mind. She sat down and ordered a large bowl. Once she started eating, she let the Kyuubi start talking to her.

"_So, what did you decide from making me stalk a kid?" _she asked him.

The Kyuubi let out a huff, he considered just keeping the information to himself but he knew his hotheaded jailer wouldn't just let it go, _"I had thought at first that she was somehow his reincarnation. His chakra emanated from her so strongly it was all I could think. Watching her actively use her chakra, however, changed my mind. Her chakra is extremely pure, but entirely her own. It is more like the Sage of Six Path's chakra is guiding her own. Almost like a teacher. It should not be possible as he is long dead, so I do not know what to make of her. Her chakra does have a slight pull to it, however. Nobody else seems to notice it, so I'm assuming I only feel it because of the fact I am a tailed beast. What that means, I have no idea." _

"_What does that make her? A demon charmer or something?" _Kushina asked in confusion.

"_I couldn't tell you, but I can say she is not a threat. Not an active one anyway. Her chakra is way too pure to be tainted by the darkness." _The Kyuubi was silent for a moment before saying in amusement, _"Well speak of the devil." _

"_What?" _Kushina asked before she heard small footsteps behind her, someone had just entered into the ramen shop.

"Good afternoon, Kagome-chan." The owner greeted.

"Hey Teuchi-san, how has business been?" Kagome answered back.

Kushina watched the kid with wide eyes. No way, what were the odds? Was the kid a regular at Ichiraku as well?

"Getting better, thanks for spreading the word."

"No problem. Ramen this good can't go by unnoticed. I mean I'm not even the biggest ramen fan anymore and I love your food." She paused as she glanced at the menu, "I'll take a miso ramen today, please."

Teuchi laughed, "Always so polite Kagome-chan." He glanced behind her and frowned slightly, "On your own today? You usually tend to come in a pair."

"Yeah, Minato's out on a mission. Guy said that he didn't meet his goal so he's out doing something even more over the top. And I need a break from the terror trio. They are driving me crazy with all this training. I get that I asked for it, but still, I need a break. They were fighting over what to have for supper when I left. Honestly, I doubt they even noticed I snuck out." A mischievous grin split her lips, "Maybe I could get away with sleeping at home tonight. It'll be way calmer that is for sure."

"Don't go causing trouble young lady. You'll make your babysitters worried for you. After you finish your bowl, I suggest you go straight back to their house." Teuchi lectured.

Kagome let out a disappointed sigh, "I will Teuchi-san. I was just joking."

Kushina couldn't help herself as she blurted out, "You know Minato?" she instantly felt herself turn red as she cursed herself. Out of all the questions she could have asked the mystery girl that is what her brain thinks is the most important?

Kagome turned her attention to the other person in the shop. She had ignored her at first as she usually did, not to be rude just to give others privacy. It was a girl, probably around Minato's age. She had deep red hair that fell to the middle of her back, the bangs held back by a simple black clip. She was currently blushing so red it looked like she was trying to match her hair color. Her pretty violet eyes were wide but also holding a curious hint to it.

Eventually, Kagome shrugged easily, "Depends on who's asking." She answered simply. She knew that her brother had enemies and she wasn't going to just give out information to just anyone.

Plus, rumors had been spreading around the village. She seemed to be too old to believe in any of those rumors, but she didn't want to take any chances. Apparently, ever since the day she rescued Guy from his bullies those three boys had been telling everyone and anyone that she was a witch. To not become friends with her or she might curse them. If she ever saw those boys again, they were going to really regret it. Just when she got over her fear of hanging out with other kids because they reminded her too much of Shippo, this happens. Most other kids avoided her like the plague now, believing the stories of her being a witch. I mean come on; witches weren't even real in this world! In the feudal era that could have been real but not here. Also, being called a witch was rather insulting. She was a priestess, a Miko, not a witch. Witches were people like the lady that resurrected Kikyo. They were terrible people who had turned to the dark, which was like the opposite of herself.

"Oh, sorry. That was rather rude of me. My name is Kushina Uzumaki, nice to meet you, you know."

Kagome's eyes went wide as stars appeared in them. This was perfect! While Minato talked about the red-head literally all of the time for some reason it was like he made sure they never met. What better time to meet her brother's crush when he's not around to defend himself?

"You're Kushina-san? Minato talks about you all the time." She answered with a pleasant smile, "Only good things I assure you. My name is Kagome Higurashi, it's nice to meet you too."

"How do you know Minato?" Kushina asked, not that she was actually curious or anything. Of course not, that would be ridiculous. She absolutely did not return the crush that blond idiot had on her.

"I live with him. I guess you could call me his ward? Or, he's my guardian? I don't know actual titles. He took me in a few months ago when my family died." Kagome explained.

Kushina's eyes filled with sorrow, "I'm sorry for your loss, I truly am."

"Thanks," Kagome answered, then started eating as her ramen was placed down in front of her. Teuchi gave her a small smile of support and she returned it, "It's still hard a lot of the time, but Minato helps. He's really a great guy." She said, being a sly wingman for her brother.

"Minato's out on a mission right now, isn't he? Where are you staying, hopefully not by yourself?" Kushina asked like she hadn't been spying on the poor girl all day.

"No, Inoichi is babysitting me. He roped Shikaku and Choza into helping. Poor Choza just met me the day that he started helping babysit me." Kagome laughed slightly.

Kushina raised an eyebrow, "And that was only a week ago right? I mean, that's when Minato got his mission. You've already dropped the suffix with Choza?"

Kagome side-eyed Kushina as she sucked in another mouthful of delicious noodles. With how little she apparently returned her brother's affection she sure did seem to know a lot about him. She must like him at least a little, otherwise why would she know how long he's been gone? She decided to ignore that little fact for now, "Choza insisted. I didn't want to at first since it was kind of impolite, but Choza wouldn't let it go. He said if I had dropped the suffix for both Shikaku and Inoichi then it was only fair he didn't get a suffix either. Round-a-bout logic, but whatever. In the end, it wasn't really something big to fight about."

"How long have you been living with Minato and what is that like?"

"Just over five months now. Huh, living with him was a bit weird and tense at first. Our personalities clashed a bit at first. Once we've gotten past that, it's been really nice. You would not believe how much of a mother-hen that man is. He frets over everything and anything." Kagome said in exasperation.

Kushina laughed at the image that made in her head, "I can see that. Well, it was nice to meet you Kagome-chan. I have to get going. Maybe we'll see each other in the future."

"Of course, we will." Kagome smiled up at her. It was her personal mission to try and get Minato and Kushina together someday. Future contact was an absolute necessity. She waved goodbye to the red-head as she left. An excited grin split her face; she could finally begin her plans of matchmaking!

"That doesn't seem like a good face Kagome-chan," Teuchi commented slyly.

Kagome beamed at him, maybe he could help her, "Minato is absolutely heads-over-heals for her. I just want to help him out."

Teuchi laughed, "Kushina-san seems like a very nice girl, I don't think your brother could do much better than her. I wish you luck in your future plans Kagome-chan."

A few minutes later Kagome finished up her meal, paid, and was heading back towards Inoichi's. She couldn't wait to tell him!

She burst through the door to see the three sitting at the table. Inoichi was pouting slightly, Shikaku looked bored, and Choza had a look of exasperation on his face. She ignored all of that, she could worry about what went down after she left later.

"I met Kushina today!" Kagome shouted happily as she made her way over to the table. Shikaku was the only one done eating so she decided to plop down on his lap. He raised an eyebrow at her and she gave him a fight me look back. When he didn't do anything else and accepted his role as chair, she grinned up at him.

"Are you starting one of your evil plans then?" Inoichi asked, smiling happily at how close Shikaku and Kagome were. He knew those two would get along well. He almost wished that Kagome was her original age. If she had still been eighteen then he could have set the two of them up together. As it was now, he would have to settle for their sibling relationship. He did feel a slight tinge of jealousy that Shikaku was so much closer to her when he was the one that met her first.

"What are you talking about evil? You are the one that thinks evilly, this week's training is proof. No, I can just innocently help her and Minato together much easier now that she knows who I am."

The next week passed by rather quickly, Kagome's skills becoming much more honed and perfected. Before they knew it, Minato was back from his mission and was picking her up.

Minato headed towards Inoichi's house, assuming that is where they would be. When he knocked and got no answer he frowned slightly. Where were they? It was around lunchtime, so maybe they went out to eat? He headed to the only restaurant that Inoichi ever goes to, but didn't find them there either. Frustration, and slight worry, built up in him. He was eager to see Kagome again. He knew that she would be perfectly safe, being in the village and surrounded by experienced shinobi, but he was still worried about her. He just wanted to pick her up and lock the two of them in the house. Just have a day that was just them, maybe play a board game or something. He was so lost in his mind that he nearly ran right into someone. The only reason he didn't was that the other person grabbed him, stopping him in his tracks. He looked up and his eyes went wide when he saw it was Kushina.

"You look lost," Kushina commented with humor in her voice. It wasn't like he could actually be lost; he knew every part of this village like the back of his hand.

"Ah, Kushina. No, no I'm not lost. I'm just looking for someone. They weren't where I thought they would be so now I have to find them." Minato answered. He really wasn't sure why he was keeping Kagome a secret from Kushina. Pretty much everyone else that he cared about already knew, just not her. He didn't want to think of him any differently he guessed.

"You looking for Kagome-chan? She's usually at the training grounds at this time of the day, you know?" Kushina told him lightly.

A light flush went across Minato's face, "You know about Kagome?" When did that happen?

"Sure, we met each other a week ago. We've run into each other a couple of other times since then. She's a sweet kid. Why didn't you tell me about her?"

"I don't know?" Minato answered honestly, then what she had said before registered in his mind, "Training grounds? What training grounds?"

"She trains with Ino-Shika-Cho during the day. If I were you, I would go rescue her. According to Kagome-chan, Inoichi has gone insane with power and that he should never be put in charge again."

"Ah, thanks Kushina. Maybe we could catch up tomorrow sometime?"

"Only if you bring Kagome-chan along." Kushina teased with a smile before waving goodbye and walking off.

Minato watched her disappear with a goofy grin on his face, she had never agreed so easily before. Maybe he should have introduced the two of them right off the bat. Minato shook his head, Kagome. He had to go pick up Kagome.

He quickly took off towards the trio's usual training ground. As soon as he got close, he easily heard a hard training session going on. Well, Minato had told her to keep up with her training. Watching and taking notes on how Jonin level shinobi fought would be a good lesson. When he got close enough to see what was going on his whole world got rearranged. Kagome wasn't watching the practice; she was actively participating. It looks as if they had teamed up; Shikaku and Inoichi vs. Kagome and Choza. It didn't look like a playful spar either, nobody was holding their punches. How long has she been doing full-on spars like these?

He watched as Inoichi went in for a strike against Kagome, only for her to do a handspring off his shoulders to avoid him. Without even wasting a movement she broke into combat with Shikaku as Choza grabbed Inoichi's attention. They all worked extremely well together. Kagome was still at a disadvantage, being so much younger and less experienced, but she was holding her ground pretty well. It looks like it was time for him to bump up her training. The academy would start back up in just a month and a half at this point. If she wanted to pass the tests and actually only attend there one year, she would have to train harder. Perhaps it was time to start throwing in elemental jutsus. Perhaps explore her kekkei genkai and see what all that could do. Sparing with those three seemed to really help her, as her form was exceptionally better than when he left. If they didn't mind maybe they could keep helping her along.

Once they stopped, he announced himself. Kagome smiled happily and ran towards him. She collided with him in a hug and held on tight, "Welcome back!" she exclaimed happily.

"I see that you missed me." He said in amusement. He felt her nod into his stomach and he let out a little laugh. He turned to look at the other three, "Are you guys at a good stopping point?" while he wanted to take her back home, he didn't want to interrupt important training.

"Yeah, go ahead and take her. We're good." Inoichi grinned, "You can pick up your stuff from my house at any time."

"Don't forget you're on the schedule tomorrow," Shikaku told her.

Kagome rolled her eyes, "I think you mean you're on the schedule and you're roping me into helping. I think I should start demanding pay." She teased.

Shikaku gave a lazy shrug, "Sure."

Kagome turned to him with wide eyes, "What do you mean sure?"

"I can pay you if you want."

"You don't have to do that, I was joking." She said quickly.

"I don't care, to be honest, the old man was just telling me that I should start. You're effectively doing the work of a d-rank job, might as well get paid for it." Shikaku drawled.

"But…" Kagome started, only to stop when she saw the look in his eyes. He wasn't going to drop the conversation. She knew how these 'fights' usually went down. She would keep insisting one way, he'd go the other. In the end the winner would be whoever could win the game of shogi, which was obviously Shikaku. In the end, she just growled, "You suck. Choza you're still my favorite." She said haughtily before grabbing Minato's hand and forcefully dragging him away.

The last they heard was Choza laughing good-heartedly, "You hear that? I'm the favorite."

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Minato broke out into a light chuckle, "It looks like you had a good time, I'm glad."

"Yeah, I guess that wasn't so bad. It was a lot of intense training, but it was fun. We spent most of the time at Inoichi's but we did spend a couple of nights at Shikaku's so we could help with the deer. We spent one night a Choza's simple because it was closest and we were all exhausted." She went on to explain what had all happened the past two weeks. Minato told her as much about his mission as he was allowed to. When Kagome expressed interest in the hidden cloud, he described what it was like there. The environment and the people. They spent the rest of the day inside, going over future lesson plans, and just relaxing in each other's company. Neither would vocally admit it, but they had missed each other very much. After you spend so long in someone's company and then they are just gone, it leaves a worry in your heart.

Minato had explained that her training would be increased and become more difficult. They would find out what chakra release or releases she has and start learning some jutsu. Kagome nodded in agreement, determination building up inside her. The next hurdle, school.


	11. Chapter 11

Kagome glared at the building in hatred. She did not know anybody and would probably know more than everybody. This was ridiculous and pointless. The academy loomed in front of her, mocking her. A calming hand was placed on her head and she looked up. Minato was looking down at her with a supportive smile.

"Do you want me to walk you in?" he asked gesturing to the other kids being walked in by their parents.

Kagome shook her head, "No, I'll be fine. I'll just find my classroom and claim a good spot."

"Are you sure? I don't mind." His own dad had walked him to the door every year until he graduated. Kagome was insisting that the gate to the school was good enough.

Kagome glanced into the schoolyard and could already see the odd looks sent her way. The rumor of her being a witch had spread like wildfire the past month. She has somehow miraculously managed to keep her forced isolation a secret from Minato who would go ultra-big-brother-mode on all the kids and she didn't want that. If the kids were stupid enough to be afraid of her from a random rumor, she didn't need them as friends. If all else failed and she wasn't able to make any new friends she would always have Guy. He might be a bit of a weird kid, but honestly, she could care less. He was a good friend who wasn't afraid to be himself. Those were the type of people she liked.

She realized that Minato was still waiting for a response, "Really, I'll be fine. I promise I'll see you after school."

He had demanded that he be allowed to pick her up after her first day of school, something about it being a tradition.

Minato let out a sigh, "Fine, deal. See you after school. Have fun."

Kagome pouted at him, "Have fun? How? It's school."

"Haha, very funny. Now get in there."

Kagome gave him a quick hug before making her way into the schoolyard. The looks the other kids were giving her bore into the back of her head. Ugh, today was going to be a long day.

It wasn't very long until she was tackled by a green blur who wrapped her in a tight hug, "Kagome! I didn't know you were going to be here too." Guy greeted excitedly.

"Hey Kiddo, how've you been?" Might Duy asked her. She hadn't gotten to see the two of them for a while because of her training. When she and Guy trained together, she usually ended up walking him back home. She had a nice relationship with his dad, who was thankful for her befriending his son.

"Not too bad, busy." She answered him before turning her attention onto Guy, "I almost forgot that you were starting this year as well." She said. For some reason, she thought that he was starting next year.

"Do you think we'll be in the same class?" he asked innocently.

Kagome let out a small laugh, "Ah, no. I'm in a class two years ahead of yours. I think we all have the same lunchtime, however, so if you want to meet up for lunch we can."

Guy deflated for a moment, "That sucks." He commented before pepping himself back up, "Lunch will be great, I can't wait." He shouted before letting her go and running off for the school.

"Thank you." Might Duy said sincerely before following after his hyperactive son.

Kagome waved after them before simply wandering a bit. The class didn't officially start for another fifteen minutes, it being the first day and everything, so she had time to kill. She watched parents drop their kids off for a few minutes. The Hokage himself was dropping off a kid that looked her age. Huh, she hadn't really thought about him having any kids. There was also a guy with white hair dropping off what looked like a really short first-year boy off. The boy had grey/silver hair that seemed to defy gravity, and a face mask hiding the bottom half of his face. She had seen the two of them around town a few times and each time their hair reminded her of Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. There were a few rather dramatic partings that had amused her to no end. How did they think they were going to become shinobi if they couldn't even leave their parents? Some of them weren't even first-years. Eventually, she had enough people watching and made her way in to find her classroom. She found it with little trouble and saw there were a few already there, along with the sensei. The sensei asked her name so he could check her in. She gave it and the teacher frowned slightly. There was probably a note from the Hokage by her name explaining her situation. While she was going to be in this class most of the time, she was likely to bounce between the years to learn specific things. He told her to take a seat for now and that she could introduce herself to the class once it started. Everybody else in the class had been together for the past two years, she was the only new addition.

Kagome nodded her understanding before claiming an empty table. Each table sat three people so she grabbed one of the tables near the front. The seat she claimed was one of the edge seats and close to a window. That way if someone else chose to sit next to her that would be their own choice. She didn't want to be the one to instigate someone else's bullying. Ten minutes later the rest of the class had filed in and the class was called to start. A girl with bushy black hair and deep red eyes had sat down next to her. Her eyes had briefly reminded her of Naraku's but she had violently shoved that comparison to the back of her mind. Another girl had sat on her other side but didn't look like she particularly liked her sitting arrangement. Once everyone settled down the sensei motioned for her to make her way to the front of the class. Which she nervously did. Why did sensei's always think these showcases were a good idea?

"Alright, everyone. We have a new student joining our class this year. Why don't you introduce yourself?" the sensei directed the train wreck to her.

Kagome cleared her throat nervously, "Ah, hello. My name is Kagome Namikaze. It's nice to meet all of you." She greeted simply; at the moment less was more. That is right, she was a Namikaze now. And wasn't that just completely bizarre?

"I'll allow a few questions before we start," Sensei announced and Kagome had to hold her glare back. Why couldn't he just let this go with no casualties? Hands were raised around the room. He pointed to a boy near the front.

"I thought the last Namikaze was a boy."

"I'm adopted." She answered bluntly.

"Why are you at the academy?" a girl asked rather rudely.

Kagome looked at her like they were stupid, "Because I want to become a kunoichi."

There were a few more questions before the sensei finally noticed her aggravation and discomfort and let her go sit back down. As the sensei began his lessons, she realized with a sinking feeling of despair that she already knew this. If the whole year was going to be like this, she was going to go insane. Maybe she could bring her own books in to read to help keep her sanity.

As the sensei droned on, she set her head on her hand and her gaze drifted to the window. Her mind drifted in thought to the day a few weeks ago, the day that had initiated Minato officially adopting her.

_Minato had started practicing his new jutsu and she was there for emergency medical needs. This jutsu was a lot more dangerous than his last one. She wasn't really fond of this one, as he got hurt a lot worse than his failed attempts of the last one. He had nearly destroyed the nerves in his hand and arm with the last failure. _

_Just as she thought that a large explosion caught her attention. Her head whipped to her brother only to just see him lying still on the ground. She didn't waste a second as she jumped to her feet and sprinted towards him._

"_Minato-Nii!" she screamed out in fear, without even realizing she had actually called him brother out loud. She effortlessly activated her Ki and directed it to heal him. She stretched her Ki to see what was all wrong. His hand was severely cut up and wind burnt. The damage traveled nearly to his elbow. He had shrapnel damage all over him from the tree he accidentally shattered with the jutsu. She checked internal organs and thankfully found them perfectly fine. He had an elevated heart rate, but nothing too worrisome. She would've been more concerned if it wasn't racing. Who is calm when they nearly blow themselves up? She looked down to see Minato staring at her with wide eyes, he looked like he was in shock. Again, not out of the ordinary when you almost blow up._

"_Kagome, you…" Minato started before she cut him off._

"_You will shut up until I have you completely healed." She demanded almost rudely. She had learned from the feudal era, healing Inuyasha, that you had to be commanding and even a bit mean at times to get your point across. From that explosion, she had a brief flashback to one of her many battles in the feudal era. Mainly fights against Kagura. She currently wasn't all in the moment. All she knew is that she needed to heal the injuries quickly. _

_Minato thankfully noticed her tone and stayed silent. It took her almost twenty minutes to fully close all of the cuts and heal any potential nerve damage. When she finally cut her Ki off and fell into a sitting position, actually a bit tired from overuse of her Ki. She had been healing him in bursts for a few hours now, she had about one more healing session in her before they had to stop for the day. Her reserves were pretty low. Only then did Minato find if safe to speak._

"_You called me Minato-Nii." He whispered happily. He had nearly missed it as he had blacked out for a second after the explosion. He had come to just as she shouted his name. _

_Kagome looked at him sharply as a blush slowly started spreading. Her mind went into overdrive, had she really said that? She couldn't remember. She had been too panicked about his safety. She silently cursed, she hadn't wanted to be the first to say it. _

"_Did I really?" she asked quietly._

"_Yes!" Minato shouted excitedly, "Do you really see me as your older brother?" he asked, desperate for her not to go back on her words._

_Kagome had a denial on her lips, but it died off as she saw the earnest and hopefulness on his face and in his aura. He_ really_ wanted her to say yes. With a sigh, she looked to the side as she mumbled out, "Maybe."_

_The next thing she knew she was being glomped in a hug. She was about to complain when something wet hit her forehead. She froze as she glanced up. He was crying. Minato was crying! Why?_

"_I'm so happy." He cried out, "I was so scared that you thought I may be overstepping at times, trying to replace your family. I'm not, I promise you. We have both lost our families, but we can become each other's new family."_

_Kagome felt herself tearing up as she desperately returned the hug. Just like that, she was slowly building her family back up. Not forgetting the past one, only adding to the pre-existing ones. A sob escaped her before she could stop it and before she knew it, they were both sobbing in the middle of the training grounds. It was sappy and cheesy, but the moment meant a lot to her. _

_After that, she didn't hold herself back from calling him Minato-Nii, and he would lovingly call her Imouto from time to time. It was a couple of days before school started up that Minato presented her with a stack of papers. _

_He had very nervously set them down in front of her as she was working through test quizzes that Shikaku had put together for her._

"_What are these for?" she asked in confusion as she reached for them. They had to be pretty important if Minato was this nervous about them._

"_I need you to know that I am not trying to replace your family and I will never be able to," he told her quickly._

"_I know, what is this about?" she asked worriedly. Minato was almost panicked and she didn't know why. Then she looked down at the boldened words on the stack of papers. __**Clan Adoption Application.**__ Kagome felt her breath catch in her throat. She hadn't even thought about this being a possibility, "Minato." She whispered quietly. _

_Minato quickly began talking, "You don't have to agree. It's a pretty huge step and the offer will always be open to you. I just figured with you starting at the academy, having a clan last name could make it easier for you." He continued to ramble but Kagome's mind started blocking out his voice as it became jumbled. _

_He wasn't joking, this was a giant step. If she accepted there would be no take-backs later. Was this something that she even wanted to do? If felt like a sort of betrayal to her mom, gramps, and little brother who were still very much alive back in modern Japan. Calling someone brother, and legally becoming siblings were two very different things. She loved Minato; she really did. He was a sweetheart who constantly put her before himself since day one. He clearly cared about her as well if he was seriously considering adopting her into his clan. Clan adoptions were a much bigger thing than civilian adoptions. Clans held a fair bit of say in the village and handing that over to just anyone was dangerous. Minato had to know all of that, so he had obviously put some thought into this._

_Perhaps this could be a new start for her though. She had been thinking of herself as an eighteen-year-old less and less these days. Now she was pretty much just a really odd nearly eight-year-old. To be honest it was giving her a bit of an identity crisis. Maybe it was time to let Kagome Higurashi rest and fully accept her new role in this world as Kagome Namikaze. Her brain quickly ran through a few different arguments for both sides before finally settling on her final answer. _

_To her amusement, as she came back to the present Minato was still nervously rambling on; random word vomit at this point. With a sigh, she reached out with both hands and swiftly caught his face between her hands with a slap. She kept his face in her hands, effectively catching his attention._

"_I would be honored to be welcomed into your family. I know it's pretty quick, just half a year since we met. But it feels right. Where do I need to sign?"_

_Minato beamed at her as he pointed out the few places she had to sign. There were other parts she had to fill in some personal information, and agreements to read through. Usually, if clan members were under the age of eighteen, they weren't allowed to adopt. However, since Minato was the last of his clan, with no legal guardians left alive, those restrictions were waived. Now, if something were to happen to him, everything he owned would officially go to her. That included his seat on the council. She just really hoped that it was a very long way off. She had just regained a family and she was not ready to lose it._

"Namikaze, are you even paying attention?" the sensei yelled out at her bringing her back to the present

Kagome turned her attention from the window back to the teacher, "Uh…" she answered dumbly. Slight teasing laughter filled the room, they probably thought she was stupid. She wasn't stupid, she was bored.

"Answer the question on the board." The teacher called her out.

Kagome glared at him slightly before glancing at the board and sighed at the easy question. She quickly answered without hesitation. She gave him one more glare before turning her attention back onto the window, only this time keeping one ear open so she didn't get caught off guard again. She heard the kids murmur among themselves, more rumors about her growing she was sure. She idly wondered if that question was supposed to be difficult. Whatever, it really didn't matter to her.

Asuma Sarutobi watched the new girl in curiosity from his seat in the back of the room. He was really interested in the new girl; he was pretty sure he had overheard his dad talking about her to his mom. He had heard the rumors about her, that she was a witch who could curse you if you got on her bad side. He wasn't sure if he believed them or not. She didn't seem so bad; sure, she was kinda reserved and gave short and blunt answers when talked to, but he didn't believe that was a choice of hers. Everybody already assumed she was going to be mean, so she was just acting defensively to begin with. He was pretty good at reading people and she just seemed bored and on guard. Like she was ready to defend herself at any moment. He was pretty sure she was a prodigy, as they had gotten worksheets to work on and she had finished it after just a few minutes. They were allowed to work together on the assignment since it was day one, but she had already known all of the answers. She had even helped Kurenai when she had asked for her help. Sensei seemed to have something against her as he kept calling her out during class, but she would always have the correct answer to his questions with no problem.

She had disappeared during lunch, simply grabbing her bento and walking out the door. He had tried to follow her, to introduce himself, but had gotten hung up by one of his friends. By the time he managed to get away, she was gone. She came back right before lunch ended and simply sat right back down in her seat. He watched as Kurenai hesitantly made conversation with her, Kagome gave her a small smile and talked back in what seemed like a friendly tone. Even more, evidence that she wasn't mean, he was beginning to really question the mean rumors about her.

Before he knew it, the school day was over and he was running out to meet his dad, who had said he was going to be picking him up. He usually did the first day before giving him his freedom. He saw his dad waiting for him by the gates and jogged over by him.

"How was your first day?" his dad asked him with a smile.

Asuma shrugged, "It was alright. Hopefully, we get to do more this year." He answered truthfully. As Asuma started walking off, heading home like normal, he was stopped by his dad's hand.

"Wait a moment, son. We are waiting for someone else."

"Who?" he asked in confusion.

"You'll see in a moment," Hiruzen told him so. Patience was something that his youngest still needed to learn.

They had to wait a few moments before Hiruzen caught sight of who he needed to talk to, "Kagome-chan." He summoned lightly. She must have waited until the crowd cleared out a bit before she left.

Kagome had slowly put her books away into her bag. She figured most kids would rush home so if she took her time then there would be fewer kids to deal with outside. Lunch had been an interesting affair. She had met Guy outside and they had chosen to have their lunch under a large tree that had a swing attached to it. Guy had even insisted on pushing her on the swing for a bit after they finished eating. He had said it would be a fun exercise. They had gotten a lot of weird looks and whispered words that they both expertly ignored. She thinks that she might have a potential friend in the girl that sat next to her. She had introduced herself as Kurenai Yuhi. She didn't seem to be bothered by the spreading rumors, so Kagome was holding onto hope.

She had just exited the school building and was searching for Minato's identifying bright blond hair. Before she found him, she heard her name called and it wasn't Minato. Be she quickly looked around and caught the gaze of the Hokage who beckoned her to him. She made her way over to him keeping an eye out for Minato. She couldn't see him and figured maybe he was just running late.

She gave him a respectful bow, "Good afternoon Hokage-sama, what can I do for you?" she asked.

Hiruzen let out a low laugh, "Always so polite Kagome-chan. How was your first day at the academy?" he asked, genuinely curious what she thought of it.

Kagome made brief eye contact with the boy that was in her class. The Hokage's own son, Asuma, she broke eye contact with him and answered the Hokage, "It was boring." She answered honestly.

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow, "That is all you have to say? It was boring?"

Kagome shrugged slightly, "I already know the stuff that he's teaching. The worksheet he gave us to do was laughably easy. But I think I may have made a friend, so there is that." She gave him an odd look before continuing, "Did you just call me over to ask how my day went?"

"That was part of it, I do have to admit. Not all, however. I'm afraid I had to send Minato out on an urgent mission this morning. He won't be back for a couple of days, a week at the most." He informed her.

Kagome nodded her understanding. "Alright, did he tell you where he wants me to stay? Am I bunking with Inoichi again?"

"Unfortunately, no. Inoichi, Shikaku, and Choza got sent out on a mission yesterday afternoon."

Kagome frowned finding herself in a small dilemma. While she could look after herself perfectly well, she knew Minato was very much against that. He was very firm with the idea that he wouldn't leave her alone until she was older, most likely twelve at the minimum. The only other person she kind of knew, was Kushina. She was pretty sure Kushina wouldn't appreciate suddenly having the responsibility of looking after her, she didn't know her that well yet. If her normal babysitters were on a mission already then who was she supposed to stay with? She sent the Hokage a questioning look, "Then who…" she trailed off.

Hiruzen smiled down at her, "You shall be staying with me and my family for a few days. I ran it by my wife, and she said she was fine with it. Minato ran home before he left and packed a bag for you already, it's in the guest room waiting for you. So, you'll just head straight home with us." he said gesturing at Asuma, who was looking between the two of them with wide eyes.

Kagome nodded her understanding and started following the two towards their house. She gazed at the back of Asuma's head and idly wondered if he believed in the rumors or not. Was _he _okay with her staying with them? Not that he really had a choice or anything, but she didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable in his own home. That was definitely was not the way to make friends.

When she got to the home of the Hokage she was introduced to the rest of his family.

His wife, Biwako, was a shorter lady with long brown hair tied up into a ponytail. She was soft-spoken and very nice. The Hokage had two other kids who were already graduated from the academy. His oldest was a seventeen-year-old boy who looked a lot like his father. He was very smiley and had greeted her happily. His middle child was a fourteen-year-old girl who was studying to become a medic-nin. She had teased her little brother saying Kagome was his girlfriend. Asuma had let out a shout of anger/embarrassment as he denied it and started chasing her around.

Kagome smiled at the happy family, "You have a nice family." Kagome told the Hokage sincerely as she just observed the family.

"Thank you," Hiruzen answered happily.

Kagome spent the rest of the day simply observing the happy family, interacting with the siblings when they initiated it. To her utter amusement, it was not the Hokage who had control over the house. No, it was very much his wife who was in charge here. It was entertaining to watch the Hokage, the leader of an entire village, get ordered around by his wife.

It was a couple of hours after their supper that Asuma pulled out the worksheet that the sensei had given them, the other boys he had sat with hadn't been much help and it was due by the next morning. He felt someone sit down next to him and saw that Kagome had changed into her pajamas and was giving him a wary look. The rumor that he was pretty sure wasn't true flashed through his mind briefly.

"Do you need some help? Kurenai-chan said I explained things easily." Kagome offered her help. She had seen him struggling with a few of the questions but wasn't sure if he would want her to help him.

"Oh, um… if you don't mind. Some of this review I don't remember learning." Asuma agreed. She couldn't be bad if his dad brought her into their home. He was very protective of his family and had a good sense of character. Even if she was a witch, he would bet she was a good witch. There had to be good ones and bad ones. Right?

A small smile appeared on Hiruzen's face as he saw Kagome and Asuma sitting together and talking. He had one of his most trusted Anbu check-in on Kagome every once in a while, to make sure she was doing alright. They had reported the supposed witch rumor circulating around Kagome. He hadn't influenced his son at all so he was glad to see his son didn't believe those ridiculous rumors. He felt his wife lean up against him and she let out a slight hum.

"What are you plotting my dear?" she asked with humor in her voice.

"Nothing at all dear, I am simply happy with how well we have raised our children." He answered her.

"Uh-huh." She smirked at him, letting him know she didn't believe him. Then she turned her attention onto the kids. Kagome was calmly helping Asuma with his homework. Actually, tutoring him and not just giving him the answers, "Kids, bedtime in ten minutes."

"Okay, mom," Asuma shouted before working faster on his worksheet. Kagome simply nodded, indicating that she heard her. She, in turn, started explaining this a bit quicker.

The next morning when Kagome woke up, she was momentarily confused over where she was. When she remembered that she was currently staying with the Hokage she relaxed. She quickly got ready for the day and made her way towards the kitchen. To her surprise, Lady Sarutobi was already awake and just starting to make breakfast. She wasn't used to anybody being up before her, Minato never woke up until he smelled his morning coffee.

"Good morning, Lady Sarutobi." Kagome greeted.

Biwako turned around, surprised to see anyone other than herself awake at this time. Nobody usually forced themselves out of bed until the smell of breakfast woke them up or they had a scheduled mission. As it was the sun was barely raising. She waved a hand, "No need to call me that, Kagome-chan. You can call me Biwako. What are you doing up so early?"

"Ah, alright Biwako-sama. I am always up this early. I think I'm cursed to wake with the sun for the rest of my life." Kagome joked lightly. Her mind drifted to Inuyasha as he rudely woke them all up with the rise of the sun every single day. Eventually, it just became instinctive. Kagome looked around the kitchen and suddenly felt restless. She had made breakfast everyday wince she got put with Minato. Plus, nearly every meal in the feudal era. It was very odd not being the person preparing the morning meal, "Um, Biwako-sama, would you like some help with breakfast? I really don't mind." She had even made breakfast for the terror trio when she stayed with them. She wanted to help.

Biwako glanced at the small child offering her assistance. Nobody ever offered to help. Her husband would, but he was usually too busy. Her children never wanted to help; she would usually have to force them if she needed an extra pair of hands. She looked into Kagome's eyes and saw the earnest want to help.

She gave the girl a smile, "I would love some help Kagome-chan. Thank you." She looked around to see what still needed to be done, "Do you think you could get the rice started and then chop up some vegetables?"

Kagome shared a smile with the Sarutobi matriarch, "No problem."

They fell into a pleasant conversation as they made breakfast and put together Bentos for lunch. One by one the rest of the Sarutobi family made their way in. Each gave her a very odd look when she gave them a plate of food.

Eventually, Asuma and Kagome had to head for the school so they wouldn't be late. As they got closer to the school Kagome got Asuma's attention, "We can split up if you want. I know about the rumors about me and I don't want you to get picked on too because you are simply seen with me."

Asuma stopped with a small frown on his face, "How did those rumors even start. You're not actually a witch, are you?"

Kagome let out a bitter laugh, "No. I am not a witch. Before school started, I saved one of the first-years from being physically bullied by three older kids. I beat them and I guess they wanted revenge or didn't want it getting out they got beat by a normal girl younger than them." She explained leaving out the fact she had made her eyes glow as well.

"Really? That's it?" Asuma asked in disbelief. With so many rumors going around, most of them bad, he had expected a more intense story.

Kagome shrugged, "That's it." She said simply. She didn't really give him much of a choice as she started walking away, "I'll meet you back at your house after school." She said with a small wave.

Asuma spent the rest of the day feeling slightly uneasy. Almost guilty. He paid very close attention to his fellow students for the rest of the day. He found himself getting disgusted by most of the other kids and even the sensei. The sensei continued to call her out with increasingly difficult questions. Like he was trying to make her slip up. The other kids would mutter rude things just loud enough for her to hear them. He knew she could hear as he saw her stiffen slightly at some of the crueler comments. She had even gotten a few balls of paper thrown at her when the teacher wasn't looking. He was sure there were not very nice things written on them. He did notice a few didn't join in, but they were very much a minority.

His mind went back to the night before and how nice she had been. How she had interacted with his siblings, talked respectfully to his dad, helped his mom make breakfast, and helped himself with his homework. Asuma suddenly got mad. She didn't deserve this bullying, especially if it stemmed from her simply helping a kid.

Kagome disappeared during lunch once again and Asuma though hard over what he should do. When she came back in, she sat down next to Kurenai and started a quiet conversation. As the third girl that sat on the other end of her table walked in, Asuma made up his mind. He would be the better person, make his dad proud in how he chose to act. He grabbed all of his things, clearly confusing his tablemates, and walked down to the front of the room.

"Hey, do you think we could trade spots?" he asked her with a smile.

The girl looked up at him with wide eyes, "Oh, thank god, yes." She said quickly before grabbing all her stuff and practically running to his old spot in the back of the room.

"Asuma?" Kurenai asked cautiously as he sat down next to her. Kagome simply sent him a curious look.

"Didn't really like the company back there. This table has nicer people sitting at it." He said honestly as he kept eye contact with Kagome.

Kagome gave him a soft smile, "Thanks Asuma." She said quietly.

Kurenai grinned and elbowed him playfully, "I knew there was a reason I like you." She teased.

Kagome smiled to herself as the sensei came back in and began the lecture again. Maybe the school wouldn't be too bad if she managed to make friends like these two. She remembered what Kurenai had whispered to her right before Asuma came over. _Don't mind the rest of them, they are all idiots. I'll be your friend. _ Maybe she could get through this whole academy thing without too much trouble.


	12. Chapter 12

**Ugh, I cannot tell you how many times I re-wrote this chapter. I'm still not fully okay with it, but if I keep fiddling with it, I'll never post it. Just to clarify something about this story as I've had to answer this question a few times now. This is going to be a very long story split between two halves. The first half is Kagome growing up in Konoha, making friends and allies, and building up her skills as a kunoichi. The second half starts when Naruto is born, it will all be in the same story though. Since I don't want the story to last forever, as I am very determined to finish this one, if/when I continue the story into Shippuden I might make that into like a book two scenario. Otherwise, this story would just never end. Anyway, enough of my rant. Enjoy the chapter everyone!**

Kagome idly worked on her homework made up for her by Shikaku, Inoichi, and Minato. The homework given out by the academy continued to be laughably easy, so those around her created harder material for her to work on. A few months had passed since that first day of school it was hard to believe that she had been in this world for almost a year now. Her birthday had gone and passed and Minato had planned a nice party for her, inviting all of her new friends. She had managed to make a couple of more friends past Asuma, Kurenai, and Guy.

Obito Uchiha had been the first and he had been the one to approach her. He was a very sweet boy with a big heart. She constantly saw him around helping the elderly carry their things. It tended to always make him late, but he tried his best. He had come up to her one day bluntly saying that he thought the rumors about her were a load of crap and he wanted to be her friend. Who was she to say no to him? He had never been mean to her before, so she didn't mind gaining a new friend. He had a dream to become the first Uchiha Hokage and he was fighting the good fight to make that possible. She thought his goal was a good one and she was cheering him on.

Obito had quickly introduced her to Rin Nohara. Rin was all smiles, hugs, and encouraging words. Kagome genuinely liked the girl; the only problem was how similar she was to Sesshomaru's ward. The only saving grace was that they looked different. Their personalities were extremely similar though. They went shopping together occasionally with Kurenai joined them from time to time as well. Both Rin and Obito had commandeered the table behind hers so they were a tight group during class now.

There was also a boy from Guy's year that she had hit it off with. Ibiki Morino had caught her practicing with her senbon and recognized the pressure points and near-lethal spots she was hitting. The way she knew anatomy and ways to inflict large damage without killing aligned exactly with what he wanted to learn. He had asked her to train him and she had agreed because his determination drew her in. He was only five and he already knew what he wanted to be when he grew up. His goal was to become Konoha's lead interrogator. She was eager to help him out as best as she could. He had even started eating lunch together with Guy and herself, though he tended to ignore Guy for the most part. She was trying to get them to get along more, but Guy's exuberance really annoyed Ibiki.

The other kids in the school had been split up between three groups. The people that bullied her. The ones that completely ignored she existed. And then there was the creepy-ass fan club that had formed. She tried to avoid those people as much as possible. They truly and honestly gave her the creeps. The bullying had definitely ramped up since day one. She could care less, however. Honestly, she found it comical how hard those kids tried to make her feel bad without even really knowing why they were doing it. She had enough of a friend base, however, so they didn't really phase her. Minato had found out about it and had been absolutely furious about it. There really wasn't much he could do about it though. He had talked to the sensei about it, but the teacher really didn't like her either. So, he didn't actually do anything about it and regularly turned a blind eye. She was pretty sure his attitude was either one of two things. He wasn't from one of the main clans so he must have started as a civilian. So, one thing he could be bitter about was her being adopted into a main clan which gave her a small boost in life. The other thing could be he didn't like teaching kids who had more potential than himself. She had heard about sensei's out there like that failed potential genin that were better than themselves.

She tried not to dwell on the bullying too much anyway, not that she had much time to recently. She very rarely had a moment to her self anymore. Usually, she didn't mind too much as she liked to keep herself busy but lately, she felt herself needing a break. She was burning herself out and she knew from experience that if she didn't take a break soon, she would make herself sick. She was actually surprised she hadn't already. When she wasn't training with Minato, she was training with the terror trio. Her rare free time from those four was usually occupied by her friends. She'd help Shikaku with the deer herd, help train Ibiki and Guy, tutoring Asuma, Obito, and Kurenai, and furthering her medical training on her own time. She tried to make time to go shopping with Rin when she wanted to go as well, having a bit of girl time.

So, because of all of that, she finally managed to arrange a day just to herself after she finished up her homework. She planned on getting her homework all finished up right away so the rest of the day would be free. She was nearly finished, only having one last page last to finish. After a few more minutes she finally wrote down the last answer and happily pushed her homework aside. Ah, freedom. A thoughtful look came over her as she thought over what she actually wanted to do with her free time now. Maybe the best answer was absolutely nothing. Napping the day away sounded rather glorious. It was thwarted, however, the moment Minato walked into the room with a sheepish look upon his face.

Kagome let out a sigh as a small pout appeared on her face, "What happened?" that look meant absolutely no good.

"I am so sorry Gome, but could I ask you a favor?" he asked as he folded his hands together, "It's nothing big, just a small errand. It shouldn't take you long and then I give you my word you'll have the rest of the day off."

"What do you need?" honestly, he could be so airheaded sometimes.

"Could you run into town and pick up my kunai order at the shop? The next bunch was supposed to be done today, but I don't have time to pick them up."

"And what are you doing that is so important?" she asked with a raised brow.

Minato turned fidgety, "I promised Kushina I'd help her out with something. Usually, I would just pick them up after I finished up with her, but the shop closes early today. That old man that runs the shop is so mean, if it doesn't get picked up today then he'll charge a holding fee. Please, Imouto."

She glared at him, "No, guilt-tripping." She let out a sigh, "Fine, I'll pick up your order."

Minato wrapped her up in a hug, "You are the best little sister ever. I should be back in a few hours, the shop closes in two. Make sure you get there before then."

"Yeah, yeah. Go help you crush, lover boy. I'll get changed and then head out. You owe me some Dango for this." She warned him.

"Deal, plus I'll even make Oden for you tonight."

She narrowed her eyes in warning, "I'm holding you to that." She did not take Oden promises lightly.

Minato laughed as he ran out the door. Kagome shook her head in amusement, it was like he was five sometimes. She made her way to her room to change since she hadn't bothered to get out of her pajamas yet. She chose a simple fighting Kimono. She didn't predict having to fight but one could never be too careful. Plus, Guy had a tendency to pop out of absolutely nowhere and demand a spar.

Since she was already out of the house, she made a few quick stops into a couple of stores. She paid close attention to the time, making sure she would still have enough time to make it to the weaponsmith Minato used. Besides the old man being a generally horrid person, he made some of the best material. It was the only reason Minato stuck with him. She bought a couple of new books, a scarf that had caught her attention, and the cutest little succulent plant she found. She made it to the weapon shop with fifteen minutes to spare. Plenty of time to simply pick up Minato's order.

As she walked into the store the old man's eyes were instantly on her. He always thought that kids were going to steal from him, "What do you want brat?"

Kagome forced herself not to roll her eyes as she repeated her mantra when dealing with this man. _Be polite, be polite, be polite, be the better person. _She gave him a forced smile, "Good afternoon Sir. I'm simply here to pick up Minato-Nii's order."

"Bah, he couldn't even come to pick it up himself." He grumbled out.

Kagome kept up the smile with pure strength of will, "Unfortunately, something came up. I hope that won't be a problem?"

The man grunted ash he made his way to the back of his store, "Don't you touch nothin' ya brat." He grumbled behind him.

Once his back was turned, she violently stuck her tongue out at him. God, he was terrible. Just to spite him she reached out and touched the nearest thing, which just so happened to be a sword. Her gaze traveled around his current selection. She tried to look them over every time she came in. She had yet to find a sword that called to her yet. She had learned from experience in the feudal era that swords really chose the person. Sure, practically any sword could be wielded, but using that complimented the one wielding it made a huge difference. Just look at Inuyasha and Sesshomaru with their swords. She would never see them using just any sword to fight with, they had already found their matches.

None of his new stock called out to her today either. It wasn't like she _needed _a new sword, but it would be nice to have one made for her again. Sesshomaru had one forged for her that was able to channel her Ki through it back in the feudal era. It had shattered during the final fight with Naraku. It had been a very well-made sword, but it hadn't been forged by Totosai. It simply hadn't been able to hold up. But she had still liked that sword and she kind of missed it.

The old man's voice caught her attention, "Oi, brat, get back here and help me move this. I'm not as young as I used to be."

"_Thought I wasn't supposed to touch anything." _She whispered out bitterly as she made her way back. If it really was that heavy, she might have to seal them inside of a scroll to get them back home.

One of the upsides of all of her extensive training was that her strength and stamina were extremely boosted. Her stamina was off the charts, at least compared to her old self. Her strength was nearly back up to what it had been a year ago. It was somewhat strange to her that was an eight-year-old was almost as strong as an eighteen-year-old. Choza had boughten her weights for her to wear daily on her wrists and ankles that helped her boost both. They were all disguised as bracelets and anklets. They were simple bands that increased in weight if she added her chakra into them.

The moment Kagome walked through the door to the back she felt the pull. Her eyes darted to the side and her breath caught in her throat. There was no way it should be possible, but there it was. Her red bow from Mount Azusa was hanging on the wall above his forge. How was it here? She had put it on the ground next to her before Midoriko had attacked her and Minato had sworn there had been nothing else in the area he had found her. Had it fallen into the portal after her, just before it closed? Did falling in at slightly different times mean that it fell out somewhere else from herself?

"Oi, brat, what's wrong?" he asked gruffly, she had been staring at the bow for a while now.

Kagome startled out of her trance, "Where did you find that bow Sir?" she didn't realize she was nearly crying, but the old man sure did.

He looked at her with wide eyes as he quickly glanced over to the weapon being questioned. He had kept it after he found it simply because it was a masterpiece. He had never seen a bow so well made in his life. He couldn't really sell it though as bows were nearly useless to a shinobi and he refused to have this bow simply used for hunting. He had never seen anybody start crying after simply seeing a weapon before, "Found it in the forests just south of Konoha. Didn't have the heart to leave such a well-made weapon to rot in the woods. Figured the previous owner was dead with how much dried blood I had to clean from it." He told her as he watched her closely.

Kagome nodded slightly. The dried blood would have been a mixture of her own and the demons dying around her. It wasn't odd for a demon to be cut down from the sky, and well the blood spilling from it had to go somewhere. There had been times it had seemed like it was raining blood. War was not a nice and clean ordeal; it was very messy.

"What does the bow mean to ya brat?" the shop owner asked suddenly. With how she was looking at the bow it clearly wasn't her first time seeing it.

What did it mean to her? At the moment, everything. This bow was her only connection to her old life besides the large scar across her back. It was a bow blessed by the Kami's from her world and practically made just for her. She couldn't exactly claim it as her own, however. It was slightly taller than she was. It would take tons of practice to wield it correctly again. The lie came to her rather easily, "It was my sister's. I thought it was lost forever the day she was killed. I never thought I would see it again." She ended truthfully. She had honestly thought it had been left behind in the feudal era.

The old man gained a serious look as he looked at her. During her whole conversation, her gaze had not left the red bow. With a grumble he made his way to the bow, he was growing soft in his old age. He reached up and took the weapon off the wall. With a sigh, he held it out to her, "Take it." It would do no good to him here as he would never use it.

Kagome finally pulled her eyes from the bow and looked at the usually mean man with wide eyes, "But…"

The old man shook his head and cut her off, "I've merely kept it to honor the craftsmanship. It holds sentimental value for you. Take it brat, before I change my mind."

Kagome slowly reached out and took it from him, "Thank you, Sir. Thank you so much." She almost cried out. She was holding back her tears as much as she possibly could.

By the time she left the old man's store she had sealed Minato's literal crate of three-pronged kunai into a scroll so she'd be able to carry it home. The old man had also given her quiver and arrows to go with it. She'd tried to pay him but he said a bow was useless without arrows. When she had tried to fight the issue more, he'd compromised with saying this first dozen being free, but any future purchases for more would be made from his shop. She had happily agreed having now seen the soft side deeply hidden behind the cruel and gruff exterior. Kagome nearly ran home. The bags from her purchases earlier dangling from her arms as she hugged the bow tightly to herself. She definitely knew what she was going to be doing on her day off now. She had to see if she was even able to shoot the bow at her current age and height. It would be difficult but she was determined to make that answer a yes.

Kagome barreled through the front door and quickly put her things away. She threw her purchases on her bed before putting Minato's scroll on the kitchen table. She wrote a quick note saying she would be out back practicing with a new weapon she had gotten. She had found a small clearing back behind the house that was perfect for training and she had claimed it as her own. She ran out the back door and easily jumped over the fence. She spent the next hour practicing with her bow. It was extremely difficult to use and she couldn't pull the string back all of the way simply from lack of arm length. She could fire off arrows, however. They just didn't have as much oomph as they could and she was much slower between each shot, but it was possible. She knew she couldn't use it in battle for at least a couple more years, but honestly, she was simply glad to have it back.

She was about to call it a day when she heard the step behind her. She assumed for a second it was just Minato coming to check on her like the mother-hen he was. Then she sensed the dark and twisted aura. Without a simply hesitation or wasted movement she knocked an arrow, turned, and shot. Her power turning the arrow pink. It was stopped by a flowing hand just before hitting its target. Kagome's eyes went wide in terror as she turned pale.

"Midoriko." She whispered out.

When Minato came home it was with a smile on his face. He had managed to help Kushina with her problem successfully. She had needed some assistance with a Fuinjutsu seal that was just beyond her current skill set.

"Imouto I'm home." He called out as he made his way into the kitchen to put away the ingredients, he had boughten for Oden later. When he didn't get an answer, he just shrugged it off. It was her day off to spend as she liked. Maybe she was still out in the markets just doing some extra shopping. Along with the allowance he gave her Shikaku had followed through with his promise of paying her for helping with the deer as well. She had a decent amount of her own money saved up already.

When he made it to the kitchen, he noticed a scroll and a piece of paper that hadn't been there when he had left. He put the groceries away before reading the note.

_You could have warned me just how many kunai you had ordered! I sealed them inside the scroll so feel free to summon them back whenever you need. I found a new/old weapon at the shop and I'm out back practicing with it. The cranky old shop keeper somehow found my sister's bow and gave it to me. I'll be back before dinner for sure. Feel free to come back and check on me if you feel the need, but I assure you I will be fine. _

Minato put the note down with a small frown. What were the odds that her sister's bow somehow made its way back to her? he was sure that she would be perfectly fine back there, but he felt a little pulse of worry flow through him. He should just go pop in for a moment just to ease his mind.

The closer he got to the small clearing, Kagome had claimed as her own, the more he felt her chakra keep flashing in small bursts. What was she doing? Just as he got the clearing into view, he was suddenly trapped by a barrier that felt like a twisted version of Kagome's. He was instantly on high alert and was slightly surprised when a woman materialized in front of him. He tried attacking her only to find himself going straight through her. Her low unhinged chuckle sent a shiver down his spine, it was like you could hear the insanity from the laugh alone. Then he noticed that she was slightly see-through. Just what was she? Was this some kind of kekkei genkai he had never heard of before?

"Struggling is pointless, I assure you. You do not possess the strength to break my barrier and you are unable to touch me. I simply can't have you interrupting, your timing is inconvenient."

The moment what she meant processed he quickly yelled out, "Kagome, run! Go get back up." To his astonishment, she didn't even react to him. She simply loosed another arrow, her chakra pulsing again as the arrow glowed pink, from a bow that was entirely too big for her.

"It is pointless. She cannot hear nor see you." She circled around him like a predator and he didn't allow her to see his back. If she wasn't clearly insane, she would be a rather pretty woman. She was elegant to the point of seeming regal. There was a small diamond shape in the middle of her forehead and she wore ancient-looking battle armor. She looked somewhat similar to Kagome herself and he felt worry build up inside him. All in all, he had absolutely no idea who she was or what she wanted.

"What is it that you want?" he growled out, keeping a tight grip on a kunai, though he guessed it wouldn't really do much.

"What I want? Ah, that is simple. My desire is to see Kagome suffer as much as humanly possible. You see she was supposed to be dead already at this point, but unfortunately, somebody interfered with my plan. So, now I must do it myself."

Minato narrowed his eyes dangerously, his aura going dark in a type of warning. Nobody threatened his family, "Who are you?" he growled out, though he was starting to get a suspicion.

She let out a small laugh as she approached the edge of the barrier, "You'll see soon enough. She's been lying to you this entire time; I hope you realize that. Thought you should know before I kill her." she said simply before walking through the barrier and out of his reach.

"KAGOME!" he screamed out in worry beating the edge of the barrier to try and catch her attention. All it accomplished was the barrier rippling, absorbing the damage done to it. It suddenly dawned on him that all he could do was stand there in horror and watch. Was he about to lose his family once again?

He noticed the moment Kagome realized there was someone behind her as she tensed up slightly. Then she fired off an arrow faster than he had ever seen anybody do it. He noticed she made the arrow glow pink again, but it was useless. The woman simply grabbed it inches from it hitting her heart, stopping it from reaching its destination.

He knew Kagome recognized the woman as her eyes grew wide as the blood drained from her face. Her whispered, "Midoriko." Confirmed his suspicions and he felt his heart stop. The Hokage had warned him about the woman, but he hadn't said just how powerful she was. What good was he if he couldn't even touch her?

Midoriko smiled a twisted grin, "Your reflexes are just as good as they used to be."

Kagome shifted nervously, "You seem a lot saner since that last time I saw you. Did you finally come to your senses?" she asked slowly, trying to keep the conversation as calm as possible.

"Ah, yes. Nearly a year's rest gave me time to gather some sanity back. Don't you worry though, I still plan to make you suffer. Just as you forced me to."

Kagome frowned and took a slow step back trying to gain some distance, "That was an accident Midoriko and you know it. I'm pretty sure I paid my penance spending three years collecting the shards and all the hardships that followed."

"Oh, you made your penance by making friends, gathering allies, and enjoying your travels? Oh yes, you have suffered so much." Midoriko bit out angrily.

"We spend three years battling Naraku. Three years stuck in a seemingly never-ending war. Just let it go Midoriko. Rest peacefully inside the jewel. I'm keeping it pure so there should be no fighting needed."

Midoriko gave a stiff nod, "Magatsuhi has been quite docile since your arrival here. It seems I am the only one still haunted by the whole thing."

"That is not tr…" Kagome started before she was violently cut off by Midoriko attacking her. She held her ground as best as she could but Midoriko got in a lucky grab and wrapped her hands around her throat and squeezed, effortlessly lifting her off the ground. Kagome kicked uselessly as she clawed at Midoriko's hands, her airflow getting cut off. Tears started forming in her eyes as she let out small gasps. All of the training she had pushed herself through and she was still helpless against her. It pissed her off, she was better than this.

"You are the single person to blame for all of my sufferings. Since I am unable to perform the same trick again to watch you die slowly, I shall simply choke the life from you myself. It isn't as long and suffering as I would like, but it shall suffice." She growled out.

Kagome saw the desperate madness in Midoriko's eyes. There was no talking her down, her mind was forever lost from the person she used to be. Kagome's vision was slowly turning black from lack of air.

Minato was desperately attacking the edge of the barrier, but it held up against all of his attacks. He had tried jutsu, weapons, and just physically attacking it. None of it worked. He had even tried activating his jutsu to teleport to the kunai Kagome always carried with her, but this damned barrier wouldn't let him go. He had just slammed into the side of it. He had just come to the horrifying realization that he would have to watch his sister choke to death when something blasted into the side of Midoriko. The force of it made her drop his sister, who greedily sucked in air. Minato tried to figure out what had saved his sister. It looked like a purple and grey dragon and he assumed it was a jutsu. Then it spoke.

"Leave the child alone Midoriko." The dragon spoke.

Midoriko's eyes glowed showing her rage, "You!" she spat out, "Why are you stopping me? Her death would mean the Shikon is free to influence whomever you wish."

The dragon wrapped his tail around Kagome protectively. She was still coughing slightly and had let out a small _eep _when the tail wrapped around her, "I grow weary of conflict and war. The child allows me to simply be. A chance to finally rest. I will not allow you to harm her further, fallen Miko."

"I have not fallen." Midoriko screeched, "She is the one that causes harm to those around her."

"Have you not seen the color of your Ki recently? It is such a dark purple it is nearly black. Face it Midoriko, you have fallen from grace. The Kami's that have blessed you with power have forsaken you due to your actions. You serve only yourself now. You don't have the power to beat me. You are still weakened by creating the portal that sent the child here. Give in." The dragon warned. He felt the tiny Miko gripping his tail tightly. He was overly aware that she could attack him at any time and he would be severely hurt before he would be able to safely pull away with how he was wrapped around her. It warmed his heart a bit to find no ill intent pointed at him from her. A Miko like herself was extremely rare and he truly didn't mind being watched over by her, one that did not judge. It was like his mind was clear for the first time in such a long time. He had made up his mind this past year as he idly watched the child from inside the jewel that always hung from her neck. This Miko turned child was worth his protection. Midoriko was not the same woman she had been before the jewel shattered and he saw no reason to fight against her any longer. She was no longer worth it.

Midoriko screamed her frustration and anger, "This is not over, you cannot protect her forever. I will find a way to kill her, this I swear to you." Midoriko promised darkly before dissipating. Her soul going back into the jewel.

Once the dragon was sure she wasn't going to come back he unwound himself from the child and positioned himself so he could look her in the eye. There were tear tracks going down her face and her neck was already bruising. Before he could say anything, she beat him to it.

Minato was beyond confused as to what was going on. Since when were dragons real? They could be shaped in jutsu attacks, but they shouldn't be actual alive creatures. He was glad it had chosen to protect Kagome, but why had it? Midoriko's words floated through his mind. _She's lying to you. _Just what was Kagome lying about? He noticed the barrier was slowly dissipating now that Midoriko was no longer around to sustain it. He quickly hid his presence and jumped up to hide in the nearest tree as he had a feeling the following conversation was one that he needed to hear. To be able to understand a bit more about Kagome. Kagome's voice gained his attention and plunged him into further confusion.

"You are a demon from my world. Thank you for saving me, but who are you? How are you even here?" she coughed out painfully. She didn't fully trust him yet, but she would give him the benefit of the doubt. He did save her after all and he could have easily crushed her in his tail but he hadn't. His grip hadn't even been really tight, she was assuming he had done it just in case he needed to move her quickly.

The dragon let out a low chuckle, "You do not recognize me? I guess you would not, I never showed my true form during the war."

"You participated in the war?" Her unease grew. There had been no dragon demons on her side of the war, that could only mean he had been on Naraku's side. She couldn't judge too much, a few of Naraku's own incarnations had switched sides at the end. Mainly Kagura and Kanna came to mind. Hakudoshi had been more of a neutral party, not on Naraku's side but not their ally either. This demon could be the same.

"I did indeed, on the side of the spider. I have since then switched to your side, Miko. Though I do have to admit it was after the spider's death."

"I will ask again demon, who are you?" she asked showing zero fear. She had seen larger dragons in the past. It was sad to say this giant demon scared her far less than Midoriko did.

"You really want to know? I could just stay anonymous." He asked and Kagome nodded her head sharply, she wanted to know, "Very well Shikon Miko. I shall show you."

Minato watched from his treetop perch as the dragon started to shrink down. He was ready to interfere at a moment's notice if it seemed necessary; if the dragon seemed hostile to his sister at all. So far, he had remained hidden as he somehow knew announcing himself would be a terrible idea. He wasn't sure how to fight a dragon, but he would figure it out if he had to. Or die trying. He was worried for Kagome as mentions of war and different worlds were brought up. He would wait for her to tell him the whole story herself after this. Even if she was lying to him, which seemed more likely as each second passed, he trusted her. No matter what he would still be his little sister.

The dragon finished shrinking down into a tall man with long grey hair that fell past his waist. He had sharp red eyes, each underlined with a jagged purple stripe. The oddest parts were his naturally blue lips and literal purple arms. It was very clear this man was not human. He wore ancient-looking samurai armor. It was Kagome's expression that really caught his attention. She had a look of anger and slight fear. It confused him how she showed zero fear to a dragon more than ten times her size, but his man scared her. He watched her unconsciously reach for a kunai.

"Magatsuhi. Why did you help me?" she asked sounding sincerely confused, "The last time I saw you, you were trying to kill us. And enjoying every second of it. Sesshomaru killed you." She said slowly.

Magatsuhi shrugged seemingly calm, "As I told Midoriko, I tire of fighting. Since the jewel's creation, of Midoriko's and my own soul, the Shikon has not been kept this pure for so long. I know what you're probably thinking, it's not even been a full year." He gave her a serious look, "Not a single holder in the past has had the ability to unconsciously keep the jewel completely pure. There is always darkness in the soul. Not yours though. With Midoriko's fall into madness, there had been a power switch within the jewel. There must always be a balance with the souls. The darker Midoriko's becomes, the calmer mine is. It is odd, but I assure you that I am firmly on your side now. I will do my best to protect you from the fallen Miko, even if that is just keeping her attention on me in the jewel." He smirked as he gave her a small bow of respect that he clearly didn't fully mean.

Kagome folded her arms as she lowered her guard, "Don't mock me." She commented about the bow, "Just in case you have any hard feelings yourself, I am truly sorry about shattering the jewel."

He waved her off, "I know that it was purely an accident. I didn't get the worst of it anyway. Plus, I had a bit of free time when Naraku freed me. It was fun to stretch my wings." He teased lightly before a frown appeared on his face, "I can't stay here much longer, the energy in the air here saps my strength."

"Chakra." She supplied, "The energy is called chakra and it is not compatible with people from our world. From what the sage guy said it would be like poison to our systems. That is why I am like I am now. I needed to be able to adjust."

Magatsuhi smirked, "I thought you were shorter from the first time I saw you, but then you were always short. Thought it might just be my imagination."

"Haha. Very funny." She said sarcastically.

"In all seriousness, however, I have something to give you." He held out a hand and a sword in a black sheath appeared in it, "I want you to take it. I know the dog general trained you in swordsmanship and you have practiced even more here, so you'll know how to treat it right."

Kagome's eyes went wide at the sword that radiated raw Yoki, "I don't think I have the strength needed to wield a demon sword. I know from experience that they are very particular about their owners and I'm sure I won't qualify."

"Nonsense. It is a sword formed and sustained by my own Yoki. It will cooperate for anyone I deem worthy, and besides myself, the only other person would be you. It will listen to you."

Kagome wrinkled her nose in slight distrust, "Ah, this isn't like So'unga is it? Cause that sword was a real pain in the ass."

A full-blown laugh escaped him, "Naw, I don't have enough power to make a sword that controls people and raises the dead. That would be cool to witness first hand though."

A long-suffering groan came from Kagome, "No, not again. I've had to fight enough zombies to last a lifetime thank you very much."

Kagome took a deep breath before reaching out to grab the sword. The moment she had hold of it she felt it accept her and she breathed out a sigh of relief. She noticed the purple dragon decorating the sheath that she hadn't noticed before as she unsheathed the sword. She gazed at the pure beauty of the sword. The hilt was grey with ancient engravings decorating it. The blade was a light purple color and it was absolutely gorgeous, "Does it have a name?"

"It was created from myself so it has the same name as me, though you can shorten it if you prefer. It will never break as long as my soul exists, and since I'm forever stuck inside the jewel, I think the sword should last you a lifetime. A word of warning, be careful of who you let hold it. It may have the tendency of burning them, concentrated miasma can burn like acid as I'm sure you're aware. It's like a safety mechanism."

"Right, well thank you Magatsuhi. I owe you for saving my life." She said sincerely as she sheathed the sword back up.

"Just keep the jewel as pure as you've been keeping it and call yourself even." He glanced sidewise, making direct eye contact with Minato. He had clearly known he was there the entire time, "If I may say, I suggest you tell your guardian what is truly going on with your past. And soon."

Kagome flinched slightly as she held the sword a bit closer to her for comfort, "I know. I didn't mean to _NOT _tell him for so long. I was going to tell him a while back. Then we got so busy training and I just kind of forgot. Then he adopted me into his family and it just didn't really seem important anymore. He cares about the me I am now, not who I used to be. There was also the fact I was scared he would look at me differently after I told him. He is very important to me and I don't want to lose him. But, with Midoriko becoming active again he deserves to know the truth." She let out a sigh, "I'll tell him tomorrow. I need the day to process everything."

He mussed up her hair before starting to disappear, "I'll see ya later kid. Keep up with the training." He suggested giving her a meaningful look at the sword before completely disappearing. His soul following Midoriko back into the jewel.

Minato watched as Kagome's legs just seemed to give out as she collapsed onto the ground, "Why couldn't life just stay as it was?" she asked herself quietly.

Minato watched her for a few more minutes to make sure she was truly okay before making his way silently back to the house. He had a million questions, but he would just have to hold out until tomorrow to get them answered. Life suddenly didn't make sense and that wasn't okay with him.

He busied himself starting supper as he waited for Kagome to make her way back to the house herself. He had to wait another half hour that truly tested his patience before she wandered into the kitchen. He idly noticed that she didn't have the bow nor sword with her. She had a scarf he had never seen before wrapped around her throat hiding the bruising. Why she didn't just heal them he wasn't sure. Maybe she was going to show it to him tomorrow during her explanation.

"How was your day?" he asked as normally as he could, trying to hide the panic in his voice.

Kagome gave a shrug as she laid her head down on the table, supported by her folded arms, "It was tiring." She answered simply. She was clearly trying to hide the pain and worry from him as well.

They ate in silence before Kagome had said she didn't feel very well and wanted to go to bed early. He had allowed her so he didn't have to hide any emotions on his face. He barely got any sleep that night, paying close attention to Kagome's chakra signature in the room next to his. To make sure that it didn't suddenly disappear on him. He did notice that the sword she had received had a unique chakra signature of its own and it practically wrapped around Kagome's own protectively.

The next morning when he wandered into the kitchen, he saw Kagome waiting at the table for him patiently, "Minato-Nii… we need to talk." She said carefully.

Minato nodded as he grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down. This was it, he was going to learn the truth about his little sister.


	13. Chapter 13

"So, how did I do?" Ibiki asked excitedly as he glanced at the training dummy.

Kagome gave him a considering look as she glanced to see where his senbon had landed. She gave a small nod and Ibiki lit up for a moment. Then she started talking, "Congratulations Ibiki, you've successfully killed the only person who had the information you needed." She pointed the one of the senbon that landed on the dummy's neck, "You hit the jugular again and the person you were interrogating has bled to death."

"Ah man," Ibiki whined out. He had hit the jugular three times today alone.

Obito let out a small chuckle before saying, "I mean it's pretty impressive to be able to keep hitting the same spot."

They were having their weekly group practice, something they had started a few months ago. They would get together, talk about things that were bothering them, help each other train, and simply hang out for a while. They had implemented the new tradition a couple of days after she had told Minato everything.

He had been pretty cool about mostly everything; her being from a different world, fighting through war, time travel, the truth behind the jewel. What he did have a slight problem with was her true mental age. It had taken him about two weeks to finally wrap his head around it. It had been a tense time and her friends had noticed that something was wrong. They had all gotten together and practically kidnapped her for a relaxation day. It had been extremely odd seeing her two separate friend groups together for the first time. During those weeks she had rotated spending the night between the terror trio's houses. She wanted to give Minato his space to think things over. Choza had been slightly surprised to see her at his doorstep. They had become pretty good friends, but he had assumed she would stick more towards Shikaku and Inoichi. Even if she always joked he was her favorite.

Minato had finally come around and apologized for being so stupid. They had come to the agreement of no more secrets and that things would simply go back to the way they had been. It had been a bit awkward the first couple days, but they had easily found their rhythm again. And like they had agreed upon, things had gone back to normal. Only now, there were no more secrets.

"With a little more practice, I'm sure you'll get it Ibiki-kun" Rin encouraged with a smile, bringing Kagome's attention back to the present.

"Your raging youth shall help you along my friend!" Guy shouted out.

Ibiki sent him a small glare before turning back to the target, "I'm glad this school year is almost over with. I'll be able to focus better when I don't have to worry about homework."

"For this year at least. After summer it's right back to it." Obito groaned out as he threw some kunai at his own target.

"Well, for most of us anyway." Asuma grinned knowingly.

Kagome blushed lightly as Obito became confused, "What do you mean most?"

"Oooh~ she didn't tell you?" Kurenai teased.

"Who? Tell me what?" Obito looked around wildly, trying to figure out what was going on.

"My most bestest of friend Kagome has been selected for early graduation. I am so proud." Guy declared with happy tears streaming down his face. Honestly, that boy's emotions could change on the drop of a dime.

Obito spun to face Kagome, "You're what? Why didn't you tell me?" he asked with a small look of hurt on his face.

Kagome gave a small shrug, "I forgot I hadn't already? Sorry Obito, my bad."

"Wait a minute, all of you already knew?" Obito asked in a scandalized tone. A series of nods was his answer and Obito deflated.

"I really am sorry. I thought I had told everyone already."

A determined look appeared on his face, "Well, we'll have to throw a party for when you graduate." Obito declared.

"And he does mean that, when not if. You are way too good not to pass the graduation test." Rin grinned at her, pulling her into a hug.

"Of course, she is going to pass. I wouldn't ask just anyone to help me train." Ibiki smirked. He walked over to collect his senbon, "Will you point out the spots I'm supposed to hit again?"

Kagome laughed lightly, "You guys are the best friends I could ever ask for." She took a marker and marked the points on the dummy, "Those are the spots you need to aim for, but I'll have to help out more next time. I have to get going early today, I promised Minato I'd be home for lunch. He had his scheming face on, so I better not test it. Who knows what he's up to this time?" Minato had a habit of surprising her and she was starting to hate it.

Ibiki looked disappointed for a moment before nodding, "Alright, see you at school tomorrow then." His training with Kagome had just been cut by a few hours, which really sucked.

"Bye guys," Kagome called out behind her as she took off towards home, taking the rooftops as practice for her chakra control.

Kagome entered the house, only to find it empty. She frowned slightly, where was Minato? He asks her to come home early and he's not even here? She headed towards the kitchen table which had become their normal place for notes. Not to her surprise she found a not waiting for her.

_Sorry, I need to go look for something should be back soon. Could you please make lunch today? Set a plate for an extra person._

Kagome rolled her eyes as she headed to the fridge to see what was available. There wasn't much, they really needed to go shopping soon. Looks like today's lunch is going to be a simple one. She wondered who the extra plate would be for, Minato hadn't mentioned anything about anyone coming over. Maybe he finally had the balls to actually ask Kushina out properly. If that was the case, she didn't know why her being here was strictly necessary.

She put some rice into the cooker and was about to start cutting up some vegetables when she felt her sword pulse its Yoki in clearly annoyed. She rolled her eyes as she put the knife down and started towards her room to go grab him. Since the sword was directly connected to Magatsuhi, he was able to talk to her through it sometimes. Only if she wearing it though. The first time that had happened had been a shock and she had dropped the glass she had been holding with a shout. Magatsuhi had burst out laughing at her predicament. Now a 'days it was simply annoying. She had decided to call the sword Suhi, so there was some difference between the sword and the demon it came from. Magatsuhi had insisted that she keep the sword with her at all times, so she could be safer. She didn't exactly follow that and it annoyed him to no end. She had him with her nearly all the time and he was always close to her at home. The only time she left him behind was when she trained with her friends, she got tired of him making fun of her friends. He stayed silent during school, out of boredom, but he was active during any kind of training. She was done with his snide comments when she was trying to relax and have fun with her friends.

Kagome made her way into her room and to the sword display holder, she had boughten. She grabbed Suhi and swiftly slung him over her shoulder. He was too long for her to tie to her hip, which is where she usually hung her sword. She let out a sigh as she made her way back to the kitchen, "You are so needy." She grumbled out. All she got back from him was a sense of satisfaction. He wasn't able to talk all of the time, so she mostly just got emotions from him.

She nearly had lunch finished up when she heard the front door open and close. She simply assumed it was Minato, as he would be the only person not to knock, "You are almost late, what is all this about Minato-Nii?"

"Ah, so Minato isn't here yet? Where is my dear Minato?" an unfamiliar adult male voice asked.

Kagome hid her flinch by force as her grip on the knife tightened. Suhi let out a pulse of protectiveness and she tried to calm him down. It was probably best to show neutral-ness as of now. Kagome slowly turned around with a wary look on her face, "Who are you, and why did you enter my home without knocking?"

He was a man who seemed to be in his late twenties to early thirties. He had long spiky pure white hair. Under each eye was a red line that went all the way down his face, like the trail of a tear. He carried a large scroll behind him, which she filed away as a possible threat. Who knows what could be sealed inside it. She did notice the leaf headband tied around his forehead, so he was most likely a leaf shinobi. That did not mean he was an ally to her, however. She kept herself forcefully neutral, Minato's request for a third plate was in the back of her mind. Which was pretty much the only reason she wasn't attacking the man already.

The man sat down at the table like he owned the place and raised an eyebrow at her, "Did Minato not tell you I was coming?" he easily spotted the defensive behavior that she was trying to hide. Though she was hiding it pretty well for someone her age. He was pretty impressed with her actions, she was ready to slip into combat mode at a moment's notice. He was very aware of the long sword she had strapped to her back that she could easily pull at any moment. Minato was training her well.

"Not really, no," she answered simply.

The man let out a booming laugh, "That boy can be so stupid sometimes. Where is he anyway? He asked me to come over around this time." Well, Minato may have given him an earlier time but he had gotten distracted around the hot springs.

Kagome narrowed her eyes slightly. He still hadn't given her his name, "Minato should be back soon. He's out looking for something apparently." She answered carefully.

They fell into a silence as Kagome finished up making lunch. She never gave the man her full back, always keeping one eye on him. He didn't move from his spot he had claimed at the table and he was simply staring at her. For Kagome, the silence was tense mentally willing Minato to get back home and deal with the stranger. The man, however, was rather amused as he watched the kid. Minato had probably wanted his arrival to be a surprise, but he clearly hadn't thought it through all of the way. It wasn't smart to not tell his kid sister that somebody was coming over if he wasn't going to be home himself.

Five minutes later the front door opened once again, this time it was definitely Minato. She checked his aura to make sure, she didn't want to suddenly be outnumbered. It was definitely Minato's aura and it was currently frustrated. He made his way into the kitchen only to stop as he saw the new person in the house.

Minato pointed at him angrily, "Where have you been? I've been looking for you for almost an hour!" he shouted out.

"Whatever do you mean dear student of mine? I have shown up as promised." The man said with a smirk.

"Two hours late!" Minato shouted back.

The man shrugged as he gestured over to the still tense Kagome, "I'm afraid I startled your sister with my arrival."

Minato turned to find Kagome angrily glaring daggers at him and he flinched. Ah crap, "Sorry Gome. This is my Sensei from when I was a genin. I've asked Jiraiya-sensei to come over to discuss a theory when I found out he was coming back. He was supposed to be here earlier and when he didn't show up I was afraid he had forgotten, which he has done a time or two. I went out to look for him but I didn't think about him showing up when I was gone. Sorry." He tried to defend himself, unconsciously putting the blame on Jiraiya.

Kagome let out an aggravated sigh, "You _really _need to stop surprising me less." She grumbled out as she finally relaxed. She pointed the kitchen knife at him, "Sit down." She demanded as she finally put the knife down to start plating the food.

Minato quickly moved to follow her command, not wanting to gain more of her ire.

Jiraiya watched, extremely entertained by everything, "Well, I can clearly see who is in control here."

Kagome let out a giggle as Minato gave a squawk of protest. Now that she knew the man wasn't a threat and she could put her guard down; she could start forming an opinion of him. They had lunch with Jiraiya constantly telling embarrassing stories about Minato, much to the Minato's chagrin. He seemed like a nice guy with a good sense of humor.

"How long are you sticking around this time?" Minato asked him. His sensei had been leaving the village for longer and longer periods of time while at the same time staying less and less. Usually going on long term missions or simply just gathering intel.

Jiraiya shrugged lightly, "It sounds like I might be sticking around for a while. Sarutobi-sensei has requested a favor. He is withholding what he wants yet, but he implied that it was important." He turned to look at Minato's little sister and changed the subject, "So, I hear that you are set to graduate in a couple of weeks. You looking forward to that Kiddo?"

Kagome nodded lightly, "Yeah, I guess. I mean I'm overjoyed to be getting out of class. The teacher sucks and the work is beyond easy. I'm going to miss seeing my friends as often, which is the only sucky thing."

Jiraiya let out a small chuckle, "You'll still get to hang out with them. Trust me, you'll have plenty of time."

"Thanks," Kagome said simply before starting to gather the dishes up to clean.

"Ah, right. Jiraiya-sensei, I wanted to get your input on something. Your Fuinjutsu knowledge is better than my own. We have a slight problem that I'm hoping you could help us out with."

Kagome sent him a warning look, "What problem?" she growled warningly.

"Midoriko," Minato said seriously. He knew that she wanted to keep her past in the past and keep it a secret from everyone and he couldn't blame her on that. The truth behind her past was like a bomb on reality. Different worlds, time travel, demons, and de-aging is a lot to swallow. It had, admittedly, taken him a little bit to come to terms with the fact that his little sister was technically older than him. It took longer than he cared to admit, but he was fine with the fact now. Kagome was still Kagome. However, the fact that Midoriko could come back at any time was terrifying. He wasn't able to do anything, and he absolutely hated that fact.

"Why would we need his help with her?" She asked through clenched teeth. Was Minato about to out her to someone she had just met an hour ago?

"What if we could seal her away?" he asked seriously. They were ignoring Jiraiya without really meaning to who looked between the two of them with wide eyes. Minato had looked into the possibility and it looked like it could be possible, but he didn't know how to go about it himself. This would be a very in-depth seal and a single mistake would be catastrophic. As much as he hated to admit it, a seal of this caliber was beyond his current skillset. He needed his Sensei's help, whether Kagome likes it or not. Pissed off at him was better than dead.

Kagome paused; she hadn't considered sealing her away was even an option. She held up a finger telling Minato to stop talking, which he did right away. She needed to get Midoriko distracted. Otherwise, she would eavesdrop and form a plan to stop them. She dived into her mind, not caring that Jiraiya would see her glowing, and formed the now normal connection to Magatsuhi.

"_What's up brat?" _Magatsuhi asked lazily. The slight respect he had shown her that first day all those months ago was long gone.

"_Can you keep Midoriko busy for the next hour or so? We might have a possible plan." _She asked quickly.

She could practically sense the feral grin cross his face, _"My pleasure." _He answered before disappearing. She stayed silent until she felt three quick pulses from Suhi, indicating he had Midoriko too busy to spy.

"Alright, we're good now. Magatsuhi's keeping her busy. Seal her how?" she asked bluntly, losing the glow that surrounded her. She opened her eyes to see Minato smirking and Jiraiya staring at her slack-jawed. She had probably been in her mind for about ten minutes.

"What is going on?" Jiraiya asked in confusion. He figured it was safe to talk now that the kid had talked first. Minato had given him the signal for silence when she had first started glowing. He was so confused. Were they talking about sealing a person away? And how were they possibly being listened in on?

"From what I understand, before the jewel got shattered Midoriko nor Magatsuhi were able to get out. Correct?" Minato theorized, ignoring Jiraiya for now.

Kagome frowned thoughtfully, "Not that I had heard of, and I'm pretty sure if they had been able to do that before people would have been talking about it."

"So, something changed after it got shattered. They are no longer fully trapped within the jewel, what if we were somehow able to reverse what got changed in the first place?"

"I'm all for keeping Midoriko within, but Magatsuhi doesn't deserve it anymore. We would have to target her specifically. Would that be possible?"

"I'm sure we could figure something out, but he'd need to know details to be able to make the seal correctly."

"**What is going on?" **Jiraiya bellowed.

Both Minato and Kagome startled and looked quickly over to the Sannin who they had accidentally been ignoring. Minato looked back towards Kagome giving her a meaningful look and she let out a small huff.

"Fine, but only the basics." Kagome grumbled out to him before addressing Jiraiya, "I don't know if you believe in ghosts or not, but I am being effectively haunted by one. We apparently need your help sealing her away." She said bluntly. She finished putting the dishes into the sink, leaving them to wash later. Magatsuhi could only keep Midoriko busy for so long.

Jiraiya gave Minato a dry look, "Really, ghosts?" was his student just humoring the girl? But then why would he ask for his help?

"I know what you are thinking, I was thinking the same thing in the beginning. I have witnessed it first hand, however, and being so powerless like that is terrifying. Midoriko can do whatever she wishes to Kagome, but I can't even touch her." Minato explained. He had told Kagome about being present the day that Midoriko came back as soon as he accepted everything, he didn't want there to be any secrets between them.

"Only those with spiritual abilities can touch Midoriko, or Yoki apparently since Magatsuhi was able to body-slam her." She undid the clasp on the necklace that held the jewel and set it in the middle of the table, "This Jiraiya-sama is the Shikon jewel. It was created hundreds of years ago by the souls of a powerful priestess and a strong demon." She saw the unbelieving look on his face and clarified, "Not one of the nine demons from this world, but that is a story for another time. You can ask Hokage-sama after this is you don't believe me."

"Alright, how about for now I just pretend I do and I'll make my final decision later," Jiraiya said neutrally.

Kagome shrugged, "Honestly, that is more than I thought you were going to give me. Anyway, a few years ago this jewel got accidentally shattered and the pieces were scattered all over the place. Once the pieces finally got put back together something within the jewel had changed, however. The priestess used to be the good force while the demon being the bad. Now, the priestess has gone insane and has become a dark Miko while the demon has switched sides and is only looking to spend the rest of eternity in peace. They are now able to manifest themselves in the real world, which they were not able to do before it got shattered. What we would like to see is possible is permanently sealing Midoriko, the priestess, back into the jewel so she can't escape anymore while giving the demon free reign."

Jiraiya frowned in thought, the problem sounded rather difficult if what she was saying was true. He could see that she wasn't telling him everything, but he would just to talk to Sarutobi-sensei at a later date to confirm if what she was telling was actually factual, just like she had suggested. One thing he wasn't really clear on, however, "Why don't you just destroy the jewel all together? I mean why is it so important? Why not just throw it away and never worry about it again?"

Kagome let out a sigh as she idly rolled the jewel around on the tabletop, "The jewel cannot leave my possession, very bad things would happen. It can't be destroyed either. The most that will happen is that it would just shatter again, and I will not go through that again. The jewel itself is extremely powerful and the shards are no different, they carry a fraction of the jewel's power. Even that fraction is enough to strengthen a person's power at least tenfold. It all depends on the size of the shard and the mental will of the holder." Kagome frowned thoughtfully, deciding how much information she should give to him. Minato seemed to have full trust in him so she should probably give him the benefit of the doubt. He didn't seem to really believe her, which she didn't blame him. Her story was rather fantastical. May as well go for a shot in the dark here. She caught his gaze and held it, "I have seen a single shard of the jewel give life to an inanimate object or even bring the dead back to life. The jewel is no joke and I need to keep it on me to keep it pure so it doesn't corrupt an innocent person. The jewel has caused enough harm already, I don't want to be the cause of even more death and destruction. I just don't want to have to wonder if Midoriko is going to manifest at any moment and attempt to kill me again."

Jiraiya became very serious; if what she was saying was true that jewel was beyond dangerous. Why would the Hokage leave it in the possession of a child? Surely somebody else, somebody older, would be able to keep it safe. Or even lock it up in a room somewhere and forget about it. Why was the jewel just left in her possession?

"Do you think it could be possible Jiraiya-sensei? Is it possible to single out Midoriko?" Minato asked almost desperately. Jiraiya was his best bet at keeping his sister safe from the most prominent threat.

"I don't know, I would have to do some research on it. It seems like something I should be able to do, however, I would have to be able to place half of the seal of the recipient you would want to seal." Jiraiya thought out loud.

Kagome frowned, "So we would just have to wait until Midoriko decides to manifest again and hope you have the seal done by then?" she let out a groan and glanced at Minato, "This was a waste of time." She got up and headed towards her bedroom, "It was nice meeting you Jiraiya-sama but for what you said you need to do, this seal will be impossible. You won't be able to touch Midoriko, so thanks for thinking about it but it seems like this was a dead end." She sent a short pulse of her Ki into the Suhi to let Magatsuhi know he could stop if he wanted.

"Kagome, wait," Minato called out but she simply ignored him. She had stupidly gotten her hopes up, she should have known better. Minato groaned as he held his head in his hands, "Will you please keep looking into the possibility Jiraiya-sensei? Maybe Kagome could place the seal on her for you."

Jiraiya nodded slowly, his own possible theories building in his mind. He hadn't gotten a challenge like this in a long time. If this was all true, which by how serious these two were he was leaning towards it being an actual threat. Would sage abilities work the same as the spiritual abilities she was talking about? If he went into sage mode, would he be able to touch this Midoriko?

About a week had passed since Jiraiya came to visit the first time and Kagome was starting to suspect this man didn't own a house. He was always around and slept in one of the guest rooms every night. He disappeared a lot during the day and Minato told her that she didn't want to know where he disappeared off to. She was curious but decided to just let it go. Kagome had put the sealing conversation behind her, already accepting that it wouldn't work. Magatsuhi and herself would just have to double team every time she tried in the future. She was sure that they could keep Midoriko at bay, hopefully.

So, to get the spotlight off of herself she easily transitioned it onto Minato. They were in the middle of having breakfast, which Jiraiya always stuck around for, when Kagome brought up the conversation with a smirk, "So how are things going with Kushina-san?"

Minato choked as he had been in the middle of swallowing and he gave his little sister an evil look, "What are you talking about?"

Jiraiya let out a laugh, "Ah, you're still chasing after the Red-hot Habanero?" he asked in good humor.

Minato blushed, "There is nothing wrong with that. She's beautiful and strong and she doesn't take crap from anybody."

"So ask her out stupid," Kagome said as she took a bite of food.

"I've tried," Minato whined.

"No, you haven't. You've always joked about it or sprung it on her when she doesn't think your serious. Ask her out seriously…" Kagome smirked evilly, "or I will." She gave him an ultimatum.

Minato glared at her, "You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't I?"

Minato's face turned wary, no she definitely would. Kagome is way too adorable, Kushina would never be able to say no. He decided to try and get his way out of it, "As if it would even work."

"Ooh~ I sense a bet coming on," Jiraiya said eagerly.

Kagome shared a grin with Jiraiya before nodding in all seriousness, "If you don't ask Kushina out by the end of the day today I will ask her out tomorrow."

"Argh, come on Imouto. You wouldn't do this to me would you?" he asked nearly pleading.

"End of the day dear brother of mine, Jiraiya-sama as my witness," Kagome said as she gathered up her dishes to wash quickly. She had to meet up with Rin and Kurenai later to have a girl's day. They were planning on going shopping and then ending up at the hot springs to relax. A plan was already being built inside her mind on how she was going to ask Kushina out on a date if Minato didn't get his act together by the end of the day. Honestly, she was looking forward to this.


	14. Chapter 14

Kagome snuck out of the house from her bedroom window and quickly made her way out of the compound. Minato had failed the ultimatum that she had given him and hadn't asked out Kushina the day before. So now it was her turn. The only problem was Minato had been guarding the front door like a prison warden, trying to stop her from leaving. She had recruited Jiraiya to distract Minato just long enough for her to sneak out. Jiraiya thought the whole thing was hilarious so he was overly willing to help her out.

She had dressed in a slightly fancier play kimono and had Suhi strapped across her back. Magatsuhi would be able to help her track down the Kyuubi's unique chakra signature and she'd be able to find Kushina a lot easier. Her plan was pretty simple. She was going to head to a flower shop and buy Kushina a nice bouquet of flowers and ask her to lunch. She had thought briefly about taking her to Yakiniku Q but then decided against it. Ichiraku was much more to Kushina's taste. That lady was obsessed with ramen. She had become pretty close with Kushina since they had first met and she knew her pretty well by now.

She knew which flower shop she wanted to go to as well, she had found it yesterday when she had gone shopping with the girls. It looked like their stock was very well taken care of, and she didn't want to give Kushina just any old plain flowers. As she made her way into the flower shop, she was surprised to find Inoichi in there flirting terribly with the shop owner. Kagome simply stood there and watched in enjoyment. She didn't even know that Inoichi was interested in anybody, a civilian nonetheless. The lady was very pretty and she gave a small giggle to something that Inoichi had said. She had a rather regal look about her, nice clothing, and her brown hair tied up in a tight bun. With a smirk on her face, she dashed forward and gave Inoichi a tight hug.

"Inoichi what are you here?" she asked innocently.

Inoichi's face instantly burst into a blush as he froze in shock, "Me? What are you doing here?" he blurted out.

"Getting some flowers for a date." Kagome answered truthfully before turning to the flower lady, "Sorry to interrupt, but could I get a small bouquet of yellow tulips, calla lilies, geraniums, chrysanthemum, iris' and pink roses?"

The lady smiled gently, "That forms a very nice message." As she went to gather up the requested flowers.

Inoichi gave her a small glare, "And who do you think you are taking out on a date? You are too young to be dating anyone." He paused and his eyes widened slightly, "It's not that Uchiha you're usually hanging out with, is it?" his eyes widened even further, "Is it the Hokage's son?"

Kagome let out a giggle, "It's Kushina."

Inoichi froze for a moment before bursting out in laughter, "Why in the world are you asking Kushina out on a date."

She smirked at him, "I gave Minato an ultimatum, which he failed. Either he asks her out or I will." She rolled her eyes, "Maybe this will finally kick his butt into gear. They are so good for each other and I just want them to be happy. It's clear they both like each other and it's so frustrating watching them dance around each other." She ranted out.

Inoichi glanced at the pretty flower lady before turning his attention back onto Kagome, "So what do your flowers mean?"

"In general terms, I think she's pretty and I want to remain being her friend," Kagome told him. She became an expert on flowers and their meanings during the feudal era. It had started when she began learning about herbs and their healing properties. Some flowers were also used and she actually enjoyed researching into it. It had been something she could learn to help her in both the feudal era and modern Tokyo. She could talk flower language with her friends from school who were interested in romantic stuff like that.

"You are well versed in what flowers mean." The flower lady said with a smile, "This bouquet's recipient is lucky."

"Thanks, I hope she likes it." She glanced back over to Inoichi and gave him a knowing smirk, "I'll leave you to it then. Talk to you later Inoichi, we can swap stories."

Inoichi seemed to deflate a bit, "Fine, next time you come over we'll have a chat. Now you should probably get going before Minato tries to stop you."

"Byebye." She teased as she paid for her bouquet and left the shop.

"_Hey Magatsuhi can you pin down Kushina?" _She asked as she slowly started walking in a random direction. She didn't want to go too far in one direction to find that Kushina was in the opposite way.

"_No problem kid." _He answered as he pulsed is Yoki to try and find the only other demon energy that resided in the village. It took a couple of minutes before he finally found her, _"She's close by the training grounds." _

"_Thanks." _She answered before quickly making her way towards where Kushina should be. She had to get to her before Minato realized she was gone and tried to stop her. Honestly, he probably already noticed that she wasn't in the house anymore and was out looking for her already. She needed to hurry.

Kagome made it to Kushina seconds before Minato interrupted them. She shot him a victorious grin as he skidded to a halt.

"Kushina, can I ask you a very important question?" Kagome asked quickly gaining her attention. Right behind Kushina Minato deflated in defeat.

Kushina startled slightly as Kagome seemed to appear out of nowhere. She was dressed nicer than what she usually wore and even her hair was done up nicely. One of her hands was hidden behind her back. She raised an eyebrow, "Sure, I guess so." She answered carefully.

Kagome took a calming breath before putting a large smile on her face and presenting the flowers to her, "Kushina Uzumaki, will you do me the honor of going on a date with me?"

Kushina paused in shock, was she serious? Then she felt Minato's chakra behind her and the pieces started slightly clicking together. She let out a small giggle and excepted the bouquet, "I would love to go on a date with you. Where exactly are your destination plans?"

Kagome shot Minato a victory smile as she linked arms with Kushina and started walking away, "Since I know it's your favorite how does Ichiraku sound?"

"That sounds simply perfect," Kushina answered as they walked away.

Minato collapsed to his knees and let out a high-pitched whine as he watched his little sister walk off with his crush, "Kagome." He whined out betrayed. Why was she doing this to him? She was such a little traitor.

A few hours later the two girls were finished up on their date. Kagome was walking Kushina home as it was on their way when Kushina spoke up.

"Not that today wasn't fun, but I know that you don't have those type of feelings for me. What was this date all about?" Kushina asked with humor in her voice. For someone so young Kagome definitely knew how to orchestrate a nice date.

Kagome paused slightly as a small smile drew across her face, "I'm trying to give Minato a push. Look Kushina, Minato really _really _likes you. It's just that he turns into a bumbling and rambling idiot around you because he's so nervous. Not that I am a real threat, but I thought maybe throwing the fact in his face that anybody could ask you out at any time would push him over that final hurdle."

They made it to Kushina's front door and she seemed lost in thought, "Kagome…" she said slowly.

Kagome interrupted her, "I know that you care about my brother, even if it's just a little bit. Would you give him a chance? Please? All of the things he says he means full-heartedly. It would mean a lot if the next time he asks you out, even if it's in a stupid way, you would say yes." She gave her a quick hug before heading back towards home, giving Kushina a lot to think about. What was waiting for her at home was Minato's mopey face. All Kagome could do was laugh.

A week later it was finally the day for the graduation test. Obito glomped her in a hug as he wished her luck. A chorus of well wishes followed from the rest of her friends. The test was, honestly, laughably easy. There was a small written test, an accuracy test with kunai and shuriken, and to finish up they had to successfully execute the clone jutsu. Minato had taught her the shadow clone jutsu a while ago, saying that it would be easier for her with her large chakra pool. She had easily mastered it and she could successfully summon five at a time at the moment, but with more practice, she should be able to summon more in the future. She passed the test with flying colors, obviously.

"Namikaze-chan you are to report to the Hokage's office for your placement." The shinobi who was in charge of the testing informed her. He handed her the headband signifying her graduation, "Congrats on passing kid." He said sincerely as he called in the next student.

After some consideration, she decided to tie the band around her neck. She wasn't really fond of headbands. Plus, she could hide the Shikon necklace behind it so it was less noticeable. She made her way to the Hokage's office after making a quick pitstop at her old classroom to show off her headband. The Hokage's receptionist smiled at her as she approached.

"Good afternoon Kagome-chan, congrats on becoming a genin. You can head right in. Hokage-sama is expecting you." The receptionist told her happily. She was a nice lady who always seemed to have a smile on her face. She was a kunoichi that decided the life of a ninja wasn't for her, so the Hokage gave her the job as his receptionist. She could hold her own and was able to protect the Hokage if needed it. Kagome had visited the Hokage a lot so she was on pretty good terms with the lady.

Kagome smiled her thanks as she made her way into the Hokage's office. She wasn't the only one in the room, however. Jiraiya was there as well, looking at her with a very odd look on his face.

As soon as the door clicked shut behind her she asked, "Uh, what's going on here?" they were both just looking at her, it was a bit uncomfortable.

"Well done on passing the graduation exam Kagome-chan." Hiruzen congratulated her, ignoring her question.

Kagome narrowed her eyes slightly, "As if you can call that a test. Practically anyone can pass that. Do you really just let anyone become a ninja?" Honestly, she could have passed that test before she had even started school.

Hiruzen let out a low chuckle, "That test is to weed out the ones that truly can't make it. What the students don't know is the sensei they get assigned to give them a second test. If they don't pass it, they'll get sent back to the academy. Only about a third of the students will actually end up passing." He told her truthfully.

She smirked slightly, "With you telling me this, I assume I am being exempted from that test?"

He gave a short nod, "Yes, as you aren't being assigned to a squad just yet. I feel that as long as Midoriko is an issue putting you on a team with other genin is too risky. And as such, I have decided that the most beneficial option is to put you under the tutelage of Jiraiya here. I have also filled him in on everything."

Kagome's eyes widened before darting over the Sanin, "Everything?"

"Everything."

"Oh." She said dumbly. Now the look on Jiraiya's face made sense. Then something different crossed her mind, "I thought you said you were done being a teacher?" she directed to Jiraiya.

"Ah, that is true, but when the Hokage askes a favor of you, ya can't really say no," he answered slowly as if his mind was still processing.

"Jiraiya is a superb teacher and I believe that with some teaching you will become a master of Fuinjutsu. With your history, I think that would be a very good technique for you to study. Jiraiya is the most knowledgeable shinobi in Konoha on Fuinjutsu. I was informed of the possible solution of sealing Midoriko away. I believe you two shall become a good due." Hiruzen said sagely.

"So, I won't get a team?" Kagome asked, slightly let down. She had kinda been looking forward to it.

Hiruzen shook his head, "Not at this time. Possibly in the future, but for now this option is best." He explained.

Kagome nodded her head in understanding, "Very well." She answered.

A grin stretched over Hiruzen's face as he handed a scroll to Jiraiya, "In fact, I believe that I have a good first mission for the both of you."

Kagome lit up, "A mission already?" she asked excitedly.

Jiraiya, however, got an annoyed look, "Really? I thought we agreed that I wouldn't get stuck doing any D-rank missions."

"That is why I am currently assigning you a B-rank. D-ranks would be a waste of both of your time. That scroll needs to be delivered to the designated person in the hidden earth village. That should give you two plenty of time to get acquainted." Hiruzen gave them a knowing smirk.

"**A B-rank?" **Jiraiya and Kagome chorused. Kagome was excited, while on the other hand Jiraiya was conflicted. He now knew that Kagome hadn't always been as young as she was now, which was the oddest thing to wrap his mind around, however, he had no idea how well the kid was able to fight now. A B-rank as a first mission was a pretty big leap. He was glad he didn't have to do any D-rank, but C-rank missions would have been easier for a while.

"Indeed, you leave in the morning. I wish you luck on your first mission together, team Jiraiya." Hiruzen said with a smile on his face.

Kagome couldn't help herself as she launched herself at the Hokage and wrapped him in a big hug, "Thank you so much for believing in me." She whispered to him.

Hiruzen let out a happy laugh and returned her hug, "This is my pleasure, my dear."

Jiraiya cleared his throat, "Come on kiddo, we need to work together a bit before tomorrow. I need to see where you are and what you're capable of."

"Coming~" Kagome sang out as she followed her new sensei. At least this one she could actually look up to, not that crappy one from the academy.

A few hours later Kagome was on her back gasping for breath. Oh, Kami! And she thought Minato and the terror trio were tough. Jiraiya was an absolute drillmaster. Minato finally came around to track her down since she hadn't shown up after school to let him know who she got assigned to. He had been blown away when he learned that she got assigned the same sensei that he himself had. He had been happy of course but conflicted at the same time. Jiraiya never got assigned normal missions anymore, and the missions he did get assigned were very dangerous. Well, more dangerous than the normal missions usually were anyway. Honestly, she was scheduled for a B-rank already the very next day. Yes, he was worried, but at the same time at least he knew he could trust Jiraiya to keep his sister safe during missions. Jiraiya was extremely protective of those he deemed has his, and he happened to know that Kagome had already wiggled her way into that category.

He passed his little sister a water bottle which she eagerly accepted, "I got you something for tomorrow." He said suddenly.

Kagome glanced over at him still trying to catch her breath, "What?" she managed to gasp out.

He passed over a small container, "Nothing much really, but I figured these would help you out."

Kagome finally sat up as she took the container from him, curious about its contents. To her surprise, it was filled with senbon made out of very dark metal. They almost looked black. A smile found its way onto her face, "These are awesome!" she said excitedly. She didn't know why she was so deadly with senbon, but they had been the easiest thing to get the hang of. In her mind, they were almost like mini arrows. Senbon had just clicked with her and she wasn't one to look away from a new skill. She glomped Minato in a hug in thanks, "You're the best! Thanks, Minato-Nii."

Minato laughed happily, "No problem Imouto." He said as he hugged her back. Then he turned to look at Jiraiya who had stepped back to give the siblings some space, "Is that enough for today? Can I take her home to celebrate her graduation?"

Jiraiya gave a nod, "Yeah, go ahead. I think I got a pretty good idea of where she is with her various skills. I'll pick you up in the morning kiddo." He said.

Kagome rolled her eyes, "Don't you mean you'll be there anyway? It's not like you stay anywhere other than our house. I'll make us a good breakfast before we leave."

Jiraiya only laughed in a slightly awkward tone before body flickering away.

Kagome gave her brother puppy dog eyes, "Will you carry me back home? My limbs are jelly." She could walk, but she really didn't want to at the moment.

Minato chuckled and showed her his back, "Hop on."

Kagome snuggled into the back of her brother as he carried her home. She needed to get some rest tonight, starting tomorrow she was in for her very first mission. Determination filled her; she would not fail.

Jiraiya thought over what he had learned about the kid in the past few hours. This Midoriko lady was a real threat, and if he wanted to keep the kid safe for the long run, he would have to get to work on that seal that Minato had requested of him. Hiruzen wasn't lying when he told him that Kagome was more advanced than the average genin. The kid was deadly accurate with senbon, kunai, and shuriken. Senbon more than the others. She could more than hold her own in hand to hand combat as well. She had already figured out that pumping chakra into her attacks would boost them. He couldn't help compare the kid to his old teammate Tsunade. Tsunade had left the village a couple of years ago now, having lost one too many people. She had grabbed her fiancé's niece and never looked back. She sent him letters every once in a while, letting him know what she was doing and where she was headed, but they were far and few in between. The kid's kekkei genkai helped her heal nearly as good as Tsunade without the use of any actual chakra. He couldn't help but wonder what she would be capable of if somebody were to teach her medical ninjutsu. She already had fantastic chakra control, already being able to walk on top of the water. The sword she carried around with her wasn't just for show either, she had her own style on wielding her weapon. She didn't really know many elemental jutsu yet, but her elemental releases were both earth and water. A rather odd duo to have, but odd seemed to be the norm for her. She definitely had enough skills to help out on a B-rank mission, all he wasn't sure about was if she would be able to go all of the ways. Would the kid be able to kill someone? He knew that she had killed a lot of demons in the past, but from what he knew demons were a lot different than other people. She seemed to have a soft soul; would she be able to handle the life of a kunoichi? Well, only time would tell.


	15. Chapter 15

Kagome let out a small huff, Jiraiya was gone again. They had been traveling for well over a week and she had quickly learned of her sensei's particular hobby. It reminded her so much of something Miroku would do and it pissed her off. She wouldn't mind so much, but it constantly cut into their training time. Which, he had promised her it wouldn't. Don't get her wrong, she was _NOT _okay with Jiraiya being a total pig and spying on women in the hot springs. However, there was no way she would be able to make him stop so she needed to make some compromises. Otherwise, she would get nothing done. And their agreement had been, in layman's terms, that Jiraiya could get himself laid on his own time. He was currently two hours late for their training session and his excuse was most likely going to be "research" for the books(trash) that he's writing. Since he broke his promise, again, about his extracurricular activities not interrupting their time, it was totally fair if she played dirty. He would learn to fear her wrath or Kami help him. Her current age was actually going to come in handy for once.

She found him, unsurprisingly, at the hot springs. She did have to give it to him that he wasn't actually just peaking this time. He was using the charm he claims that he has to chat up three pretty ladies. A devilish grin split her face as she approached them. Game on Jiraiya-sensei.

"And then…" Jiraiya laughed out only to stop when he suddenly felt someone hugging his leg. He looked down and to his confusion, he saw his student clinging to him. His confusion turned to horror as she started talking.

"Daddy, are you done talking to the pretty ladies yet? I'm getting hungry and I wanna go back to the Inn." Kagome asked as she held up the most innocent look she could muster. It must have been pretty good as the three ladies he had been speaking to turned glares onto this now spluttering white-haired Sanin.

"No, No! You don't… she's not…" he started, but was interrupted by the slap of one of the ladies.

"What kind of man abandon's a child just to hit on women, and then denies it when caught." She accused angrily before stalking away.

The second woman stomped on his foot angrily and Kagome was officially having a field day. This was the best plan ever. It worked so well!

The third lady simply gave Jiraiya the cold shoulder before handing a business card to Kagome, "If you ever need any help sweetie just come to my business. We'll take good care of you." She glared quickly at Jiraiya before making her exit.

Once the women got out of hearing range Kagome let go of Jiraiya and burst out laughing, "Oh, that worked so much better than I thought it would." She looked down at the card and she snorted in amusement, "She works at a brothel. Totally missed your chance with that one Jiraiya-sensei."

Jiraiya finally snapped out of his stupor and fixed his newest, and hopefully last, student with an angry glare, "What the hell was that?" he growled angrily. He had been so close to closing on a grand night.

Kagome rolled her eyes and pocketed the business card, if nothing else it would be an amazing souvenir, "You're late." She answered simply as she started walking away, leading the way to the clearing they had found for a good training spot.

"So what? We can train later kid."

"Nuh-uh. You agreed, no you promised that whatever you did in your free time wouldn't interfere with my training. So, I'll issue you this one warning. Every time you show up late, I will track you down and completely ruin any chance you have with any women. Kay, Dad?" she finished cheekily. She did mean the threat, however. She would not tolerate the man's perverted-ness. She had to put up with Miroku's 'cursed hand' for years. She knew how to deal with perverts. Humiliating them publicly usually worked wonders. Sango and herself always had a grand time trying to figure out what they were going to do next to embarrass Miroku.

Jiraiya frowned fiercely as he followed after her. She wasn't bluffing, he could tell. She would definitely go through with it. Shit! His other set of students totally ignored his hobbies, but he could tell Kagome was not like them. Damn, why hadn't Minato warned him? Minato's cheeky grin and wish of luck made so much more sense now. He had known how evil the kid truly was. Those three women would most likely spread the word and he would now be out of luck with every woman in the town by the end of the day. Especially with that one lady having worked in a brothel. He stared at the back of Kagome's head in bewilderment as the morosely followed after her. he had thought she was supposed to be cute, sweet, and nice. She was the opposite of that. A tiny devil is what she was. Just for that training was going to hell for her. Payback!

A couple of more weeks passed after that and they were nearly to their destination. She swears the Hokage picked a mission that was the furthest distance away from Konoha. Not that she minded too much, she liked traveling. She had to pull the dad act a total of seven more times during their travel. Apparently Jiraiya was a very slow learner. He tried to distract her with his toad summons, but honestly, they were on her side with this issue. She was starting to get along rather well with Gamabunta. She caught Jiraiya grumbling at times, apparently, the grumpy toad didn't really like anyone. So, Gamabunta liking her totally went against any plans Jiraiya had. She was almost starting to enjoy this small war between the two of them. It was entertaining and she was absolutely winning.

Jiraiya had started teaching her some elemental style jutsu. One from each of her elemental releases. With the earth style, he had her learning the bedrock coffin jutsu. Water style was raging waves. She was catching onto the earth slightly easier than with water. Water was really hard to keep control of.

He had also given her some extremely old scrolls to read through in her free time. Fuinjutsu was nearly lost art, at least the more complex seals. It was going to take a lot of reading and memorizing. Seals were an extremely complex thing and they had to be very precise. She was honestly surprised Jiraiya had the patience for them. He didn't strike her as the type, but that is exactly why we do not judge a book by its cover.

"Hey, kid, I've been wondering something," Jiraiya said catching her attention. They were a few hour's walk from the Iwagakure.

"What is it?"

"Have you actually ever killed anyone before." He asked bluntly. He saw her stumble in her jump, they were taking the trees as good practice for her. He continued, "I mean I know you apparently killed hundreds of demons before. Have you ever actually killed another human being before?"

A small frown pulled at her lips, "Of course I have. Don't get me wrong, I hate killing others and I usually try to avoid it if I can. However, if it is my life or the life of those, I care about I won't hesitate to take another's life. Demons weren't the only ones who came across jewel shards. Plenty of humans attacked us. I got sent back to the warring states era. We got caught in the crossfire of different feudal lords' petty fights. That is one of the main reasons I started losing touch with my home. I was getting so used to the way things were done in the feudal era." She explained darkly. They traveled in silence for a few minutes before she spoke up again, "Were you worried I couldn't take the final hurdle?"

Jiraiya gave a short shrug, "A bit I suppose." He had almost forgotten that she had been caught in the middle of a war. Not just one war, but two. The war between the feudal lords and the one against Naraku. As morbid as it sounded if he had taken a moment to think it over, she has probably killed more people than he had. She definitely had if they counted the demons. Then he glanced behind him, "There is also the fact we are being followed and they are about the take their attack. They're no longer hiding their killing intent very well."

There was a group of five that had been following them for the past day or so. They had just started closing in not too long ago. They were getting ready to attack, though they were still out of hearing range. Chances were, they were here to stop them from delivering the scroll. Something they couldn't let happen.

"Ah, yeah. I've noticed them for a while. They were getting a bit annoying to be honest." Kagome admitted. They were in the last stretch of woods before it fell to rocky terrain. There was nobody else around so when she sensed the five auras suddenly appeared and kept following them, it wasn't exactly hard to notice them, "Why would they wait so long, I mean they started following us yesterday. Wouldn't they want to attack before we get closer to the end destination?" the closer they got the closer they were to finishing their mission.

"Perhaps they wanted to make sure we were their targets and that we had the scroll."

She tilted her head in consideration, "Makes sense, I guess. Still, if they were me, I would have attacked a while ago. Better safe than sorry."

"Same," Jiraiya answered lightly before giving her a sign before he suddenly disappears. Body flickering away, closer to their first attacker.

Kagome did the same in the opposite direction, in the same motion easily unsheathing Suhi and swinging him at her target. She could sense Suhi's anticipation at their first real battle. While Magatsuhi may want to live peacefully inside the jewel that didn't mean he wasn't still a bloodthirsty demon. He would always love a good fight; he was just tired of fighting Midoriko.

Kagome strengthened her swing with her chakra and easily decapitated her target, having caught him by surprise. She couldn't do the same for the other two unfortunately, the element of surprise was gone the moment their friend's head hit the ground.

Kagome grin was all teeth, "Oops, my hand slipped." She taunted lightly before diving into battle with the other two. Of course, Jiraiya-sensei would leave her with a higher number of enemies. Never mind that the two Jiraiya took on felt more powerful than these three, well now two.

Being outnumbered was not a new thing for her, but it never failed to be annoying. She quickly sheathed Suhi away and started forming hand signs. She still wasn't able to get it very stable, or strong, but it would stall one of them long enough for her to kill off the other.

"Earth style – bedrock coffin." She said quickly as she slammed her hands against the ground. The rocks rose around the shinobi and trapped him temporarily. Kagome shot off towards the other one. She held her own against the man in Taijutsu long enough for her to pull out a handful of senbon. With deadly accuracy she sent them aiming for the man's vulnerable parts. One hit the man's eye and he let out a scream of pain. The scream was cut off when another hit a pressure point that paralyzed him. As he started falling towards the ground the third one hit his jugular. She dashed forward and violently pulled it out, furthering the wound, simply allowing the man to bleed to death.

Just one more. She spun around unsheathing Suhi once again just in time to stop a kunai from stabbing her own jugular. This last guy looked absolutely livid, and she couldn't' really blame him. She had just killed two of his friends and from the sound of the screams in the distance, Jiraiya was taking care of the other two.

"Bloodthirsty little brat." The man hissed out. She hadn't hesitated a single moment as she killed his two teammates. He hadn't expected someone so young to be so unwavering in her strikes. If he hadn't seen the headband signifying, she was from Konoha he was have thought she came from the bloody mist. He desperately avoided the swings from her sword at the same time to get in hits of his own in. He was sporting a few new cuts from the brat's damned sword; she definitely knew how to use it. He did feel slightly bad having to end the life of someone so young, but he had a mission to accomplish. And teammates to avenge he supposed. It wasn't like they had been overly close or anything. He managed to get in a good graze on her arm. The kid jumped back. Sheathing the sword in the same movement. The way the kid fought was graceful, not a wasted movement. She pulled out a few kunai before she suddenly started glowing pink. To his surprise, he watched as the cut he had delivered healed over almost instantly. Just what kind of healing technique is that?

Kagome frowned slightly as she healed herself. That had hurt, "Alright, no more playing around." She growled before starting to throw kunai at the man. He dodged the first three, but grabbed the fourth out of the air that he wouldn't have been able to dodge, "Idiot." She chuckled.

The man's eyes widened in realization a millisecond before the paper bomb she had attached to the kunai blew up. She grabbed another kunai and body flickered over to him. There was a chance the bomb hadn't killed him, it probably hadn't to be honest. Paper bombs very rarely killed; they just weren't strong enough. So, she quickly slit his throat to finish him off.

She hadn't lied to Jiraiya earlier. She truly wished she didn't have to kill others, but she had gotten so used to it. Desensitized by the fact it was something she had to do. When you lived in a world where it was kill or be killed, you killed to survive.

As she waited for Jiraiya to finish up with his last one, one aura was gone by him already and the other's aura was fading. She started putting the bodies together and collected her senbon and kunai, cleaning them off before putting them away. She dug through their pockets, seeing if they had anything of interest. She didn't find anything particularly eye-catching but she did pocket the money they had on them. They wouldn't need it anymore.

"_That was fun!" _Magatsuhi exclaimed happily. Her sword was one thing that she didn't have to clean off as Magatsuhi absorbed the blood to give himself strength. He was hoping if he absorbed enough chakra infused blood, he would become immune to it.

Kagome let out a small chuckle as she rolled her eyes, "Don't get used to it." She answered him out loud at the same time Jiraiya appeared next to her.

Jiraiya body flickered to his student of the mind that he would need to help her out. What he found, however, was three dead bodies and his student talking to herself. The sword she carried was giving off very alarming bloodlust. Swords with their own chakra were a very rare thing. He sensed Kagome's chakra wrap around it, calming it down. He realized that she was waiting for him to say something.

"Good job." He said honestly. He hadn't expected her to perform quite so well or quickly. She had finished before he had, even if his opponents had been stronger.

"Thanks." She smiled, happy for the praise, "What do we do with the bodies then?"

Jiraiya pulled a black book out of his vest pocket and flipped through it quickly, "None of them are in the bingo book or of any known bloodline, so we can destroy them. You should eventually learn one good fire jutsu in the future to just burn them later. Or, eventually, you'll learn earth burial. Watch." He performed the hand signs and the bodies quickly sunk down into the ground.

"Huh, instant burial. That would have been so handy to know back in the feudal era. I cannot tell you how many graves we had to dig from the villages we came across too late." Honestly, their group could have easily been professional grave diggers.

Jiraiya nodded, "As long as they don't appear in the bingo book or don't have a kekkei genkai we could study getting rid of them is fine. Otherwise, you would need to seal their bodies away in a scroll to hand over to either the interrogation squad or research squad." He explained to her.

Once he made sure everything was taken care of, he signaled them to move on. Now that one group had attacked them to stop the delivery, the likeliness of more appearing went up. They needed to hurry and get this scroll delivered. Preferably before they got attacked again. One attempted ambush was more than enough. Kagome nodded stiffly and took off after him.

They quickened their pace and managed to get to Iwagakure within a half hour. Jiraiya led them to the recipient of the scroll and they passed it along with no further trouble.

"Thank you very much for delivering this so promptly. Will you give me some time to look it over and form a response?"

"Of course. We are planned to head back tomorrow afternoon. You have plenty of time Sir. We will stop back right before we leave." Jiraiya answered professionally before turning and walking away. Kagome just followed silently, letting Jiraiya take the lead.

When they made it out of the building Jiraiya smiled largely and ruffled Kagome's hair happily. She let out a squawk of protest as he messed her hair up, "You did amazing for your first mission kiddo. Take the rest of the day for yourself. Explore the village, shop, rest up. You've earned it." He said earnestly. Then as if just remembering he summoned on of his smaller female toads, "When you find an Inn for us to stay at, send Riku to come find me. I'll probably be back late."

The toad jumped up onto Kagome's shoulder and she smiled in greeting to the toad, but addressed Jiraiya, "So, pretty much the same we've been doing at every town?" it had become rather routine. They'd make it to town, Jiraiya would disappear, and Kagome would either find an Inn or set up a campsite if all the Inns were full.

Jiraiya simply laughed in response as he started walking away.

Kagome smirked and shouted out after him, "So if I need you, you'll be at the women's hot springs, right?"

Jiraiya stiffened and glared back at her, "Would you stop that!"

Kagome turned her head to look at Riku, "You alright with heading to a hot spring first? I really want a good soak after this afternoon." Jiraiya usually got a couple of drinks into him first before starting his perverted stalking. That should give her a good forty-five minutes to soak in peace without the fear of being peeped on.

Riku gave a little shrug, "I don't mind. I just like being here in this world. Jiraiya only really summons me to help out his female students, which really isn't that often. Your brother summons me more. I make a very good messenger toad, I'm fast." Riku grinned at her.

"Huh, I didn't know that Minato-Nii was able to summon toads as well. I can let him know when I get home that you like helping if you want." Kagome offered.

Riku grinned at her happily, "I'd like that, thanks."

Kagome found the nearest person and asked directions to a good hot spring. Once she got the directions, she thanked the person and made her way to it. She paid the entrance fee and gladly made her way in. She eagerly stripped out of her dirty and bloody clothing before making her way into the bath. The only thing missing right now was Sango. After a battle, the two girls, sometimes accompanied by Shippo and later Rin, would always find the nearest hot springs and wash the battle away. It was really odd to be doing it by herself this time. Well, she had Riku with her but it just wasn't the same.

Kagome enjoyed her time in Iwagakure after she finished up in the hot spring. The moment she had felt Jiraiya's chakra signature nearing the hot springs she quickly got out. After she got changed into her spare change of clothing, she decided to explore a bit. She did a bit of shopping, grabbing some gifts for her friends and Minato. When she happened to stumble upon a nice-looking Inn, she booked a couple of rooms for Jiraiya and herself. She gave Riku Jiraiya's room key and sent her off to go find her summoner. She did a little more shopping for herself, liking the fashion choices that were available here in Iwagakure. She sealed all of her purchases into a scroll to keep them out of the way. Knowing that she was going to head out early the next day she decided to go back to the Inn and get some sleep. She had a feeling this mission was only just beginning.

The next morning Kagome eyed the man they were to escort back to Konoha. Apparently, whatever response their client wanted to send was important enough to send with a trusted advisor. The response was vocal only, the man being the only one to actually know it. Whatever was going on was too important to write down and possibly be stolen. Kagome was worried. Either they were making way too big of a deal about this, or this mission was way more important than she had initially thought. She hadn't thought that the Hokage would give too important of a mission, to begin with. She was starting to think she was wrong.

"Ready to head out?" Jiraiya asked her.

"Of course." She replied.

"Good. I'll take point while you hold the rear. We'll keep Takashi-san in between us at all times. Keep an eye out for anyone who may be following us. Keep your senses up at all times if possible." Jiraiya told her as they started walking out the front gates of Iwagakure. Kagome nodded her understanding, easily catching onto what he wanted her to do. He wanted her to keep scanning for auras around them. She would be able to notice them before him that way. He clearly didn't want a skirmish like on the way in, which made sense since they now had a civilian with them.

They kept a brisk pace towards Konoha, not running due to the civilian, but a very quick walk. With a slight frown, Kagome realized the trip home would take much longer than the way here. Not that she didn't' like traveling and seeing parts of this world, but she was starting to really miss Minato. The trip to Iwagakure had taken a little over three weeks to get to, almost a month. This was going to be a very long trip home.

Two weeks passed peacefully since they left Iwagakure. They hadn't run into a single enemy and Jiraiya even behaved himself in the towns. Takashi-san was a good traveling companion. He could keep up well with the fast pace they had set and he was a decent conversationalist. The thing that Kagome liked the most was that he never complained. He was fine with camping out, crappy meals when there wasn't a town nearby, and never saying he was tired. Back in the feudal era they sometimes escorted people places and that is all they ever seemed to do. Complain. She had heard some horror stories from Minato as well. All in all, she was pretty glad to have been gotten stuck with this particular civilian for at least a month.

It was at about their halfway point where they had their hardest obstacle. Whoever didn't want the scroll delivered in the first place had obviously not been too happy about its successful delivery. They were trying much harder this time to stop the return message. There weren't more people this time, on the contrary as she only sensed two of them. They felt extremely powerful, however.

"Jiraiya-sensei. Two goliaths closing in from the rear, quickly." She informed him quickly. She had first sensed them an hour ago but didn't say anything just in case they were simply passing through. There had been plenty of false alarms in the past two weeks. Their movements, however, were more than enough suspicious to warrant a possible issue. Sure, it could end up being nothing, but she had her doubts about that. The two auras were homing in on their group way too quickly to simply be a coincidence. She readied herself for a fight.

"Right. Takashi-san, stick close to Kagome. Let me handle the opponents. Kagome you focus on protecting our client. That is an order." He barked out quickly as he changed their direction and breaking out into a run. He could finally sense the chakra coming at hem and he knew they would be way too strong for Kagome quite yet. Even he would probably have a hard time with the two of them. He knew how much she hated seeing those she cares about get hurt, so the order was necessary. Otherwise, she would simply blindly jump into the fight.

Kagome frowned briefly at being ordered to practically stand down before nodding, "Understood. Takashi-san, stay close to me please." She would most likely just be expected to hold up a barrier around the two of them and just watch Jiraiya-sensei fight them himself. She hated it!

"There is a field close ahead, we'll hold our ground there," Jiraiya stated as they continued running.

They came to a halt in the middle of the field and waited for their opponents to catch up. It only took a couple of minutes until the two shinobi appeared in front of them. Kagome's breath caught in her throat; they were from Kirigakure. The bloody mist. This wasn't good, she had heard that they had a lot of very powerful shinobi. Statistically, a more Kirigakure shinobi ended up in the bingo book. A lot of them missing-nin.

"Well, well, well… what do we have here? Those other idiots had trouble with a tiny kid? Pathetic." The more powerful one sneered.

"Just hand over the messenger and maybe we'll let you live." The other one cackled out.

"We can't let that happen." Jiraiya said calmly, "Leave, and you'll get to live." He counter-offered.

Smiles appeared on the two rival shinobi before they suddenly launched themselves at them. Kagome immediately erected her barrier around herself and Takashi-san, just in time for a kunai to smash into it. Takashi-san let out a shout of freight as the man started trying to break through her shield.

Jiraiya quickly caught both of their attention and started fighting them seriously. Kagome watched in both worry and amazement as she watched Jiraiya fight. The way he fought was absolutely amazing, no battles she had seen before had done him justice. Jiraiya-sensei was totally in his element, but he was outnumbered, however. She figured that the two Kiri-shinobi decided to team up to take out Jiraiya before focusing on getting through her barrier. Jiraiya was slowly building up injuries and it was slowing him down. She knew that he was getting desperate when he summoned Gamabunta.

"Jiraiya-sensei!" Kagome screamed out in worry as one of the shinobi got in a good stab with his sword. Based on where the sword had entered his body there was a good chance that it had punctured one of his lungs. If it did, then he wouldn't survive without help. She couldn't leave the barrier however, Jiraiya would be so pissed at her if she disobeyed him. Plus, she knew her limits and fighting against two people that were giving even Jiraiya-sensei a hard time was beyond her current skillset. If she had been her previous age, then possibly. He needed some healing, however, that couldn't be argued at the moment. An idea started forming in her mind, something that she had been practicing even way back in the feudal era. Healing from afar. Usually, she could only heal if she was touching or hovering just over the person. She had always been curious to see if long-range healing could be a thing.

If she was going to try this, she was going to have to do something about the barrier. The barrier that she had up currently was sustained by her conscious thought. She would have to put all of her concentration into healing, so a different barrier was going to be needed. She pulled out four of her barrier sutras, painted with blood infused ink, and quickly placed them facing north, east, west, and south perfectly. She made sure that neither enemy shinobi was close before dropping her current barrier only to activate the four sutras. An even stronger barrier sprung up around them.

"What are you doing?" Takashi-san asked nervously.

"I'm going to try healing my Sensei. It is going to take a lot of focus so I'll have to close my eyes. Tap my shoulder if the barrier starts cracking. It shouldn't as it is being sustained by my kekkei genkai, but just in case. I know my mission is to keep you safe and get you to Konoha, but I refuse to lose my Sensei." She gave him a small smirk, "I just got him, I can't lose him this soon."

Takashi-san must have seen her determination as he nodded, "Very well. I support your decision. I am truly sorry about all the trouble this issue is causing."

Kagome gave a slight shrug, "It's all part of being a shinobi."

She closed her eyes and turned her focus inwards, then a second thought appeared, _"Magatsuhi, do you think you'd be able to manifest for a while?" _an extra line of defense would not hurt at this point.

"_Yeah, shouldn't be a problem. I've already gathered a good amount of energy back up. The sword I gave you helps me replenish my energy the more you use it, so I'm good for about ten good minutes before my strength will start wavering."_

"_That will have to be good enough. Your first priority is to keep both Takashi-san and myself safe, but feel free to help Jiraiya-sensei if you want." _She unsheathed Suhi and stabbed him into the ground in front of her, "All right Magatsuhi, it's your turn." She said determinedly, most likely startling Takashi-san in the process.

She heard Takashi-san let out a yelp of surprise as she felt Magatsuhi make his appearance. She drowned it all out however as she focused on connecting her chakra to Jiraiya-sensei's to start trying to heal him.

Magatsuhi smirked in enjoyment as he plucked his sword from the ground, "Ah, this is going to be fun." He glanced back to see the human looking at him in pure fear which only made his grin widen, "Stay in the barrier human, nothing should be able to get in." Then he easily exited the barrier and rushed at the nearest enemy. Ah, a good fight! He hasn't had one of these in such a long time. He engaged in combat with the sword wielder, giving the brat's sensei a wink. This was going to be a blast!

The Kiri-nin swung his sword at the new opponent who had appeared out of nowhere and to his utter confusion his sword went harmlessly through the man. His confusion must have shown on his face as the man let out a laugh tinted with craziness.

"Ah, I was hoping that would be the case. None of you stupid ants can even touch me. I'm unstoppable in this world. Bring it on man, try and give me a challenge. For, I assure you, my sword will be able to make contact." Magatsuhi said gleefully before lunging at the human.

Jiraiya was really struggling, he had underestimated them. He'd been cocky. Now he was fighting to stay alert, he was pretty sure he had a nicked lung as it was extremely difficult to breathe. He should have summoned Gamabunta at the very start. Just as he was starting to fear he was going to lose a complete stranger appeared out of nowhere and started beating down the swordsman. He briefly noticed the wink but he definitely noticed that he had Kagome's sword. He glanced behind him to see Kagome perfectly fine within her barrier. Who the hell was this guy? Well right now he wasn't the enemy, so he wasn't his main priority. Then to his utter confusion, he could suddenly breathe a lot easier. He glanced down at himself in shock only to see some of his cuts starting to heal over. He recognized that chakra, it was Kagome's. How in the hell was she healing him from way over there? Even Tsunade couldn't heal from long-distance unless she had help from Katsuyu. Was this part of Kagome's kekkei genkai? Well, he knew it wasn't technically a kekkei genkai, but whatever. The equivalent of that. He wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, however. With a grin, he continued combat with the enemy nin. He didn't know how long Kagome would be able to keep something of this caliber up, so he had to make the minutes count.

Takashi was beyond stressed. First, there had been the past two weeks having the feeling that somebody could attack them at any moment. Then they actually were attacked, by two Kiri-nin. He knew that the kid must be decently skilled and powerful to get sent on a mission like this one, but it was still worrying to get stuck with an eight-year-old. He had thought the youngest shinobi were supposed to be twelve! The older one seemed to treat her as almost an equal, so there was that. He knew that the rank for this mission had raised to an A-rank the moment that they had to escort him. It was a lot easier to protect a scroll then it was a person. They were willing to pay the extra, this was beyond important. War was brewing behind the scenes and his group was one of the ones doing their best to stop it. He was the carrier of some very important information that would do a lot of good to at the very least delay the coming war. He had become confused when the girl started putting pieces of paper on the ground. His confusion growing further when the barrier around them disappeared only to come back up a few seconds later. He'd nearly had a heart attack when a man that didn't look entirely human appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the sword the kid had stabbed into the ground. Not that he had had any ideas about leaving the safety of the barrier, but he listened to the mystery man's words.

That had been nearly ten minutes ago. He saw the kid stiffen slightly before the glow that had been around her since she had started healing her Sensei grow slightly. He didn't know what she was doing really, but he could tell that she was doing something more or different from what she was before. A couple of minutes later he saw her start to wobble. He quickly reached out to steady her.

Kagome's eyes snapped open as she felt Takashi-san touch her. Assuming that he was warning her about the barrier she glanced around to find the weakened spot. When she didn't find any she was slightly confused, "What?" she asked slowly. She suddenly realized just how exhausted she was.

"Are you alright Kagome-chan? You nearly fell over." Takashi asked worriedly.

Kagome blinked slowly twice before answering, "I'm fine, I'm just not used to doing so many things at once for so long."

"What do you mean?" He asked, hoping to give her a slight break.

"I'm feeding energy into the barrier, healing Jiraiya-sensei, and giving Magatsuhi extra energy to keep him here longer. I didn't realize how much energy this was going to take." When she heard Jiraiya give a hiss of pain she turned her attention back on him, "I'm pretty sure they are almost done, one final stretch. I have to make sure Jiraiya-sensei doesn't get himself killed in the meantime. Minato-Nii would be rather cross with me if I let his old Sensei die on my watch." She said with slight humor in her voice before closing her eyes and focusing back on the battle. She had felt Magatsuhi's energy start dropping rapidly and had sent some of her Ki to support him. Thankfully it had seemed to work. She needed the three out there to finish up quickly, however. She was rapidly running out of energy and would most likely pass out after this. She could already feel the darkness starting to creep in and she was doing her best to fight it off.

Jiraiya finished off his opponent with help from Gamabunta and turned to see what was up with the other one. He turned just in time to see the mystery man behead the other nin. They won. He turned his attention onto the mystery man and for the first time realized that this man could not be completely human. There was just _something _off about him.

"Thank you for your assistance, but who are you?" Jiraiya asked neutrally. He was really hoping that he wasn't simply the enemy of the enemy is my friend type of guy. He had seen the Kiri-nin's sword simply go through him like he had no actual physical form. He had seen some Kiri-nin transform their bodies into water, but whatever this man could do was way beyond that.

The man opened his mouth to answer only to stiffen in what seems like worry. The man dashed passed him, straight towards the barrier. Jiraiya spun around just in time to see the man appear in front of the barrier as it dissolved. The man caught Kagome before she could hit the ground. Worry exploded through him, was something wrong with Kagome?

He body flickered over to them and the man handed Kagome to him. Jiraiya willingly grabbed hold of Kagome and held her close to him. Her breathing was a bit shallow but other than that she seemed physically fine. He looked up to see the man start becoming see-through. What the hell?

Magatsuhi slowly sheathed his sword into the sheath on Kagome's back as to not seem like he was trying to stab anyone. He had felt the kid's power boost and was grateful for it. He would have dissipated before he had the chance to kill his opponent otherwise.

"The brat'll be fine after a good rest. She used up way too much energy, the idiot." He managed to get out before disappearing completely, being sucked back into the jewel at the girl's throat.

Jiraiya turned to face their client, "Are you alright Takashi-san?" he asked before turning his attention back onto his student. He was no healer, but he did have access to a basic one. He let Gamabunta go back to his world, who had been hovering worriedly and went through the motions of summoning a different toad.

"I am completely fine," Takashi answered with a shaky voice. Other than being in shock and being scared he was fine. He just needed a moment to center himself, he was more worried about the girl who had simply collapsed out of nowhere.

"That is good," Jiraiya commented but kept his attention focused on his student. The small toad he summoned looked at him in question, "Can you tell me what is wrong with her?" he asked worriedly. Now, toads were not the best healers. Especially when compared to Tsunade's slugs, but this one would at the very least be able to tell what was wrong. He didn't want to just trust what the mystery white-haired man had told him.

The toad nodded and placed his hand onto the girl's arm, focusing his chakra into her. After about a minute he had only really found one thing wrong with her, "She has simply exhausted her chakra pool. She should be fine with some rest." The toad told them before disappearing back to his own world.

Jiraiya let out a sharp breath of relief. The man had been telling the truth, was he somehow a type of summon? He didn't think Kagome had any summoning contracts, however. He would have to ask her when she woke up. But first, "We need to get to a town. Hide away in an Inn for a bit."

"There is a town about five miles east of here that I sometimes stay at for business. They are very nice people." Takashi informed him.

Jiraiya nodded sharply before standing up with Kagome in his arms. He hadn't really realized until this moment just how tiny she was, even for an eight-year-old. He started walking in the general direction of the town, Takashi following him closely. He needed to get Kagome somewhere safe.


	16. Chapter 16

Kagome woke up with a start as she shot up, "Jiraiya-sensei!" she shouted out in concern. Last she remembered they were in the middle of battle and she was healing her teacher. If she had passed out before Jiraiya beat his opponent, then it was possible he could be really hurt. She was pretty sure Magatsuhi wouldn't have been able to stick around long after since she had been feeding him energy. That meant Jiraiya would have also lost his backup.

She felt a hand on her shoulder pushing her back into a laying position, "Easy Kiddo. We won and we are all safe."

Kagome allowed herself to lay back down as she realized she had a bit of a headache, "Is Takashi-san alright?"

"I am perfectly fine Kagome-chan. You should worry about yourself more." Takashi said reassuringly.

"You managed to keep your barrier up long enough. We managed to defeat the Kiri-nin just before your energy ran out. We're hiding out in a nearby town at the moment." Jiraiya explained.

Kagome let out a long breath of relief as tension she hadn't even known was there bled away, "Oh, thank Kami."

"We do need to talk about the white-haired man that could hold your sword. Who was he?" Jiraiya asked in all seriousness. Whoever that man was and how he was connected to Kagome was something she should have told him about before yesterday. The fact he was actually able to hold Kagome's sword was another mystery. He had made the mistake of trying to wield her sword, trying to see how balanced the thing was. The moment he had grabbed the hilt it had burned his hand so fiercely he had to drop it. Kagome had admonished him about touching her things without permission as she healed the acid burns on his hand.

Kagome had a look of confusion on her face for a split second before she realized who he meant. She had thought she had told him all about Magatsuhi. Now that she was thinking about it he did know some about him, but obviously not the fact that he could manifest himself. As much as she wanted to explain that to him, she was overly aware of the fact that Takashi was in the room with them intently listening to their conversation. She had to be careful how she explained it so she didn't give her secrets away.

"Do you remember the problem Minato-Nii asked you to look into?" she asked. When Jiraiya nodded in confusion she continued, "That was Magatsuhi, the one that is against Midoriko. I guess you could think of him as a type of summon. One that only I can summon."

Jiraiya's eyes widened in understanding. So, that is what a demon from her world was like? He would have never even considered them being humanoid. When he thought of demons, he immediately thought of animal-like beings. He gave a short considering nod, "Right, we'll talk more about that later. For now, we are going to spend the rest of the day here to rest and gather our strength. First thing tomorrow we head out."

"About that, I think we should take a more round-about way back home. After surviving an attack like that, most people would assume we'd hurry in pretty much a straight line back to Konoha. I'm pretty sure we can assume that wasn't going to be our last attack. If we take a more half-circle back it'll be harder to track us down. It'll take us a bit longer to get back, but it should be safer." She suggested drawing in experience from her past adventures.

Jiraiya nodded in agreement, "Good assessment, I was thinking of the same thing. The person or people wanting this mission to fail isn't going to just give up. Not after hiring those two. We need to keep our guard up, and a less predictable path will help. Now, let's all get some rest. This mission is long from over."

Two serious nods were his answer. He definitely had more questions for Kagome, but those would have to wait until they were back in Konoha. Where they could sit down, just the two of them, and talk about it in private.

Three weeks later the gates of Konoha finally appeared in the distance. Relief flooded through all three of them. Kagome wanted to jump for joy, but reigned in the urge to maintain professionalism. This mission from hell was finally over. The mission had taken a total of two months, and she was more than ready for it to be over with. The past three weeks hadn't been peaceful either. Far from it actually. The first week hadn't been bad, then their enemies had figured out what they were doing. The final two weeks were filled with constant attacks by numerous foes. None had been nearly as difficult as the two Kiri-nin, but the constant attacks were enough to wear anyone down. Whoever was behind the attacks had clearly changed out quality for quantity. All three of them were more than relieved to finally reach their destination.

The two guards gave the travel-weary trio an amused look, "Tough mission?" one of them asked.

Jiraiya let out a weary chuckle, "You have no idea."

"Kagome!" a voice called out enthusiastically.

Kagome turned just in time to get barreled into by Minato. She was soon smothered by a hug from her brother. She flinched slightly in pain as he irritated the cuts and bruises, she collected in the past week or so. She had had to heal Jiraiya and herself so much that her Ki was practically running on empty. Bruises and small cuts were ignored to be healed on their own so if worse injuries were sustained, she had enough energy to heal those.

"Minato-Nii?" she said in slight confusion. How in the world did he know she was going to be back right at this moment? Had he been like stalking the front gate or something?

For the past week or so Minato had kept a look out for Kagome's chakra signature. The moment she had pinged on his radar he had taken off for the front gate, "I was so worried! You were meant to be back weeks ago." Minato said as he pulled back from her, holding her at arm's length. He had felt her flinch when he hugged her. There were no big injuries that he could see, though there were bruises poking out from under her clothes. There were large dark circles under her eyes showing her exhaustion. There were multiple rips and tears on her clothes, Jiraiya's as well. They had clearly been though a lot. He noticed the third person with them, who looked ready to collapse of exhaustion and he narrowed his eyes slightly. Since when was her mission an escort? He had thought it was supposed to be a simple delivery.

Kagome let out a small chuckle that held little humor, "Sorry to worry you. The mission kinda blew up along the way. We'll fill you in on what we can later, but we have to finish getting Takashi-san to Hokage-sama."

Minato nodded and reluctantly let her go, "You guys must be hungry. I'll head home and start making something for us to eat. We can talk later."

Jiraiya placed a reassuring hand on his past student's shoulder, "We are both fine, Minato. We'll finish our escort and make our way to the house."

Minato gave a tight grin, "You know me, I'm a worrier. Go on, finish your mission."

Minato watched the group of three walk away. Both relief and concern flowed through him. If Jiraiya looked as beat up as he did, the mission _really _must have gone downhill. He wondered just what kind of hell they had gone through. What Kagome had been forced to do along the way. With a determined frown he took off towards his house, he was sure that Kagome had earned herself a nice meal of Oden. If he hurried and got it started it would hopefully be close to done by the time they were done with their mission report. It took a few hours to cook, but he could also make some rice balls to tie them over until it was done cooking.

Two hours later Kagome and Jiraiya finally stumbled through the door. A large yawn escaped Kagome as she shuffled toward the kitchen. To her immense joy she smelled the familiar scent of oden. Minato is an absolute saint. All she wanted to do at the moment was eat, take a shower, and just go to bed. God, she couldn't' wait to sleep in her own bed.

"Minato-Nii, you are the best big brother ever. How much longer until it's done?" she asked eagerly.

"Another hour yet," he told her as he set a plate on the table, "I made you both some rice balls to eat for now."

"Ah, thanks Minato. I'm starving." Jiraiya said as he greedily grabbed a couple rice balls.

"What exactly happened out there?" Minato asked.

Kagome grabbed her own rice ball and took a large bite. Since it would be a while until the food was done, she should have plenty of time to take a shower before eating, "It was, to put it lightly, a mission from hell. It wasn't so bad at first, only one group attacked us on our way to Iwagakure. Then on our way back things just fell apart. I honestly lost track of how many people attacked us trying to kill Takashi-san." She quickly finished her rice ball before grabbing another and jumping off her chair, "Since it'll be a bit before the food is done, I'm going to take a quick shower. Jiraiya can fill you in on everything else." She told him as she made her escape. They hadn't stayed in an Inn for the past three weeks, so all bathing had been done in rivers and a single hot spring they had found. She was dying for an actual shower, with nice hot water. Plus, it would give her a chance to change into clean clothes and change her bandages. Her ki was still pretty low, so she was just going to let her remaining injuries heal on their own. She preferred to let her Ki build back up.

Jiraiya sighed at Minato's expectant look, "Yeah, that was pretty tough for a first mission. She did exceptional though. With some more training and practice I think she'll become one of the best kunoichi Konoha has ever had. The specifics about our mission aren't necessary for you to know, just know that she did well. I've never seen anybody perform so well on their first real mission." A considering look appeared on his face, "Did you know that she can heal from long distances?"

Minato widened his eyes in surprise as he shook his head, "No, I didn't. How?"

"She didn't explain much, I'm not sure if she really knows how she actually does it. It has to do with her kekkei genkai. She said it took a lot of focus and involves connecting her chakra to the person she's healing. It was very impressive, that's for sure. The brat saved my life with that little trick."

"Can she only do it to one person at a time, or can she heal multiple?" Minato asked curiously.

"Not sure yet. We'll have to work that into the training schedule." A fond smile spread across his face, "Speaking of training, she's a very fast study. She's already mastered the bedrock coffin jutsu and she's nearly there with the raging waves as well. She's catching onto Fuinjutsu decently well also."

"Yeah, I know how you're feeling. It was like as soon as I started teaching her how to do one thing, we had to move onto something else because she got the hang of it already. She's definitely a prodigy, I'm just not sure how I feel about that." Minato admitted.

"For now, just be glad that she has the knowledge and ability to protect herself and others. She's a strong kid, she'll be fine Minato." Jiraiya reassured his student.

Minato simply nodded his head in reply. It was best not to dwell on things he had no control over. The conversation changed to lighter topics and a few minutes later Kagome re-entered the room.

Her still damp hair was tied up in a messy bun on the top of her head. She had changed into a set of pajamas since she planned on going to bed after eating. It was a simply tank top that had a picture of a shuriken that Choza had bought for her, she paired it off with a pair of short shorts.

Minato's breath caught in his throat and he had to clamp his jaw tight to stop himself from saying something. It's wasn't the outfit that showed a lot of skin that he had issue with either, it wasn't like she was about to wear that outside. The clothes she wore may show a lot of skin, but that only let him see all of the deep purple bruises and bandages littering all over her body. The outfit she had chosen to wear for missions was very practical, coving a lot to help with protection. It had also helped hide all of her injuries. If she wasn't going to make her own injuries a big deal, he couldn't either. He couldn't baby her, she would not appreciate that at all. He realized that she had worse in the past, before she came here. He had seen the bite marks that lined her left hip once. She used to fight things that wanted to eat her, not just kill her. He had to actively remind himself that she used to fight demons practically every day. She was used to being injured. Not that he was okay with that fact.

Kagome flopped onto a kitchen chair and without even thinking about it leaned up against Jiraiya. She was tired and he looked comfortable. She felt him chuckle slightly and pat the top of her head fondly.

Minato looked at the two of them fondly, happy that they were getting along so well. This was it, all of his family under one roof. He had always wanted a large family, and it was finally starting to build up again. All he needed right now to complete it was Kushina. But, for the moment Minato was happy and that was all he could ask for.

The next day Kagome woke up and realized with a start that it was nearly ten. She really must have been exhausted if she slept past her internal alarm clock. She got up and slowly got ready for the day. When she got to the kitchen there was already a plate of food and a cup of hot tea waiting for her.

Minato smiled cheekily at her, "I finally got to make you breakfast."

Kagome giggled, "Except for the fact it's nearly lunch."

"Brunch then," he replied with a pout, "Do you have anything planned for the day?"

Kagome took a bite of food before answering, "I wanna do a little bit of shopping and I need to pick up my pay from Hokage tower. Since the mission raised by a rank halfway through, they had to refigure the payment. Maybe I'll stop by a few people and let them know I'm back, I did get everybody some souvenirs." She had given Minato his before she had gone to sleep last night. It wasn't anything big, just a simple necklace that she had placed a safety charm on.

"Well have fun and take it easy. You deserve a break after all that. Jiraiya told me to tell you that training continues tomorrow."

Kagome finished up her brunch before grabbing Suhi and the scroll she had sealed the gifts into. She had made her way into town with a smile on her face, it was good to be back. To not have to watch her back every second in case there was a kunai coming at it.

Just as she had that thought she felt someone slam into her back as their arms wrapped around her midsection in a tight hug. She startled violently and had to physically stop herself from attacking the person. She looked behind her to see Guy practically attached to her with tears in his eyes.

"Guy? Are you alright?" Kagome asked worriedly.

"I missed you so much!" Guy practically cried out, "When did you get back?"

Kagome laughed and awkwardly returned the hug as best as she could behind her, "Yesterday afternoon sometime."

Guy let go of her only long enough to jump onto her back for a piggy back ride. She did her best to hide her flinch of pain. She didn't have many injuries on her torso, mainly on her arms and legs. So, she let him stay where he was. From his determined grip she knew he had no plans of letting go anytime soon. Honestly, he could be clingier than she was.

"I hope you don't have any plans for the day." She said lightly as she continued her walk towards Hokage tower.

"Nope, I was just training." He smiled over her shoulder at her, "I was just going to try and find Ibiki and train with him. It's hard to find him most of the time though. I think he's working hard on his stealth skills."

Kagome had to hold back her laughter. She knew how irritated Ibiki could get with Guy. The only reason they even hung out in the first place was her. She knew for a fact that Ibiki actively avoided Guy when she wasn't around to play mediator. She was pretty good at reigning him in or she could redirect the hyper boy's attention, "Oh, yeah. I'm sure that is what he's doing." She agreed as seriously as she could.

Guy fell silent as he simply snuggled into his friend's back as she continued her walk to her destination. Before he had met Kagome, he had never really been lonely. Since their meeting however he had always been acutely aware of when she was gone. Sure, that mission might have been her first, but she was very busy a lot which made her unavailable. She did a lot of training with Jonin shinobi, which took up a lot of her time. Her training with highly trained Jonin was one of the reasons she was so incredibly strong. There were times when they got together to train as a group it would be all six of them against Kagome, they could barely touch her. She was just that good. That was one of the reasons he trained so hard. Kagome was already so amazing, but he wanted to be strong enough to protect her. Not the other way around. To be able to protect her, he had to be at least on the same level as her.

He was very careful with where he kept his arms and legs as they walked. Normally Kagome wore either a simple kimono or a basic fighting kimono. Today however, she was wearing a simply outfit of shorts and a tank top, which was rare for her. Like he had thought, she usually went with more traditional clothing. Today's outfit, however, showed how beat-up she was. She had bandages wrapped around parts of her arms and legs, and there were bruises littering all over her. It was surreal seeing just how injured she was, he had never seen Kagome hurt before. It really hit him just how dangerous actual missions were, how real the danger of being a shinobi will be. Kagome's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"School starts back up in a month, you excited for it to start again?" Kagome asked casually. She had gotten a bit worried; Guy usually didn't stop talking so him being quiet for so long actually worried her a bit.

Guy nodded excitedly, "Oh, yes! I'm really looking forward for it to continue. I heard that one of the boys from my class got bumped up to your old class. I am determined to make him my rival."

"Don't make yourself too much a nuisance, otherwise he won't want you around. That will make being his rival rather hard." Kagome warned him.

"I will do my best with my youthful determination." Guy said seriously.

Kagome let out a laugh as she continued to her destination.

Hours later she had managed to round up all of her friends for lunch and they had gotten a room at the BBQ place that Inoichi had started taking her to all of the time. For a restaurant their food was actually decently healthy, she figured it was because an Akimichi ran it. Her friends had apparently decided that the fact she had graduated needed to be celebrated. So, after they were done eating, they had told her, not asked her, that they were all going to come over to her house for a sleepover. She was always surprised with how lack this entire world was with their kids. If she had sprung a last-minute sleepover with her mom, she probably would have said no. Especially if she was having the sleepover at her own house. God her mom would have been so mad at her if she just randomly showed up with six kids saying that they were staying the night. She had to hold back a laugh just thinking about it. She wondered what Minato was going to do.

"Should we head out?" Rin asked. They had been done eating for a bit and had just been talking. They peppered Kagome with questions about her mission and she told them as much as she was able to.

"Yeah, probably. It'll take us a bit to get to everyone's house, unless we split up and then meet back at my house." Kagome offered.

"We're not really in a hurry, sticking together is fine." Obito said with a shrug. They hadn't really hung out as a full group for a while. Kagome really was the glue that held them all together.

"Yeah, that's fine by me." Ibiki agreed.

So that is what they did, they went house to house gathering everyone's things. There weren't really any problems until they got to the Uchiha district. None of the others except for Rin and herself really wanted to go into the district with Obito as it was usually frowned upon for outsiders to enter. So, only the three of them entered the district while the rest of them waited outside of the gates. Kagome looked around with interest, this district was so much more different than her own. It was about four times larger than her own district and all of the buildings looked extremely similar to each other. Not many of them had homey touches showing on the outside. Every house in the Namikaze district had its own unique touch and honestly, even with them all being uninhabited they seemed homier than all of these homes. It looked like the rumors of the Uchiha's being very strict and uptight might be true. She had doubted it before, having being friends with Obito. It seemed like Obito might be the odd one out, however.

"This works out great, my mom wanted to meet you." Obito grinned at Kagome as they walked down the street.

"She wanted to meet me? Why?" Kagome asked, confusion in her tone.

A slight blush flushed across Obito's cheeks, "I've been telling her about you, how you graduated so early and all that. Plus, she likes to meet my friends."

Rin nodded in agreement, "She wanted to meet me too after a while. She's a nice lady and makes really yummy cookies."

Rin was right, Obito's mom was a really nice lady. She also sent a container of cookies along with them for everyone else. Obito was bright red by the time they left as his mom was a firm believer of telling the most embarrassing stories to his friends. Kagome found it absolutely hilarious. She used to do the same things to Sota's friends when they came over, he always had the same reaction as Obito too.

They almost made it out without any issued, but they happened to run into the new head of the Uchiha's just as they were leaving. Kagome knew something was off the moment Obito's eyes grew wide. When the man caught sight of the three of them, he changed course to intercept them. Kagome hid the fact that she was eyeing the man, assessing the possible danger. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, and he looked very serious. Obito gave the man a quick bow of respect.

"What seems to be going on here?" the man drawled out.

"We were just leaving Fugaku-sama. They were just helping me pick up some stuff from my house." Obito said quickly.

Kagome's eyes widened slightly when she realized just who the man actually was. Minato had made her memorize who the leader of each clan was, and their heirs. Fugaku had been named the leader of the Uchiha clan about six months ago with the death of his father. She had no idea how this man would react to them being here.

Fugaku eyed the two girls before saying, "I've seen you here before," he motioned to Rin before turning his gaze right on Kagome, "you are new, however." His gaze lingered on the shinobi headband tied around her neck.

Taking the unsaid que Kagome bowed politely, "It's an honor to meet you Sir. My name is Kagome Namikaze, I'm a friend of Obito's."

"I heard that Minato had adopted somebody into his family, and you have graduated already."

"Yes, Sir, I have."

"Impressive for one so young. I wish you luck in your future young one." Fugaku said before simply walking away.

Kagome watched after him with a strange look on her face, "That was weird."

"You have absolutely no idea. I've never seen him compliment anyone before." Obito whispered out in shock.

Rin shook her head as she grabbed both of her friend's arms and started dragging them back towards the Uchiha gates, "Come on you two, lets go. Everyone is waiting for us."

Kagome let Rin drag her as her mind started whirling. Was it a good thing or a really bad thing that the head of the Uchiha clan now had her on his radar? Hopefully he will just forget about her and everything will be completely fine. Nothing bad would happen, right?


	17. Chapter 17

It had been a very long six months since she got back from that first mission. Most of it was intense training sessions broken up by difficult missions. Almost all of their missions pertained to the upcoming war they were trying their hardest to keep putting off. Kagome was less than pleased to know that she just got out of one war only to get plopped into a new one. At least this one shouldn't be as difficult as fighting against a psychotic spider demon super-powered by jewel shards. Much to her dislike she was gaining a reputation outside of Konoha. With the types of missions they got assigned, as Jiraiya was her sensei, it was only a matter of time. Unfortunately for her, some of the shinobi from Konoha were overheard talking during one of their missions and her despicable nickname had spread past Konoha's gates. She was starting to become known as the Witch of Konoha, and it pissed her off to no end. Why couldn't those idiotic shinobi just keep their mouths shut? She was not a witch! Thankfully none of them knew her actual name, they only had a light description. So far, at least outside of Konoha, Kagome Namikaze and the Witch of Konoha were still two different people. She desperately hoped she could keep it that way. Honestly, it wasn't like she actually used her Miko abilities outside of training sessions with Jiraiya. All she ever used was her healing and barriers. She never made her eyes glow and she had managed to get the glow around her down to barely visible when she used her abilities. Other than the loudmouths from Konoha, people from outside of Konoha had absolutely no evidence to associate her with a witch! If she ever found out which shinobi had spread her nickname, there was going to be less shinobi in Konoha.

Since she had met Fugaku Uchiha for the first time she had run into him a few more times. She always tried her best to keep the conversations brief and polite. Minato had warned her that Fugaku could be a real piece of work at the best of times. However, Kagome knew from dealing with demon royalty through Sesshomaru that making enemies with powerful people was a terrible idea. Even if you absolutely despise the person, plaster a smile on your face and chat like you are old buddies. So, she tried her best to keep herself carefully neutral with the man. She was nice and polite, but not trying to be overly friendly where he would try and start manipulating her. It was a careful balance, but she did her best. She tried her best to stay out of the Uchiha district all together, which Obito agreed with. That probably helped the most. She usually ran into him the most near the Hokage tower. She had run into his fiancé a couple times in the market and she seemed like a very nice lady. What she was doing with Fugaku she had no idea, most likely arranged marriage if she was being honest.

During all of her intense training sessions, she had learned a lot of new jutsu, which she was ecstatic about. She even learned a few that were outside of her elemental release. Those had been difficult to learn, but totally worth it. They took up more chakra to use so some of them were strictly only for dire situations. She was getting a lot better with her Fuinjutsu as well. She got a pretty good grasp of basic seals, but this particular skill was definitely going to be one she learns in the long run. Her training was mostly with Jiraiya, but she did split off from him at times. Minato still trains her from time to time, though he is just as busy as she is lately. Minato had finally mastered his new jutsu, he called it rasengan, and Kami is it powerful. She had no desire to learn it as it was not one of her chakra releases and looked way too complex for her. Minato taught it to Jiraiya, however. While those two were off training together Kagome trained with her terror trio. She didn't get to hang out with them as much as she would like lately, but hopefully, after this whole possible war thing, she would get more time to hang out with them more. They had tried to expand on her ability to heal from a distance, but she couldn't get it past more than one person at a time as of yet. Her soul and Ki core were still smaller than they used to be, so maybe when she got older, she'd be able to heal more. Only when the resources that fueled it grew though. Jiraiya had told her that his old teammate Tsunade was able to heal a bunch of people at the same time with help from her summon. That got her thinking a bit, she wasn't able to use a summon like Tsunade, but what if she made a mixture of Fuinjutsu and sutras into a talisman people could hold onto. Like bracelets or something similar. If she was able to tap into those talismans when she tried healing, would she be able to spread her reach? It was definitely something that she could start looking into, but she would have to get more familiar with Fuinjutsu first.

Midoriko hadn't been much active, which Kagome was eternally grateful for and at the same time extremely suspicious about. She had been having rather distressing dreams/nightmares recently that Kagome was beginning to suspect the crazed Miko was behind. She had been dreaming of both of her old families, but mainly her family from the future. Lately, it has been a mixture of Sota angry at her for breaking her promise about coming home and Shippo saddened that she abandoned him. She had taken to putting silencing sutras on her walls so Minato wouldn't hear her when she wakes up. She'd wake up sobbing the days the nightmares came. She knew they weren't real, but at the same time, they were both right. Jiraiya had hinted to her that he was possibly close to finishing up a Fuinjutsu seal that might work to seal Midoriko away permanently. They had to be very careful about what they said as she could be listening in at any time. Kagome wasn't allowing herself to be hopeful, however. If it ended up working, amazing, but if it didn't at least her hopes wouldn't be crushed.

On a happy note, to her immense joy, Minato and Kushina had finally started dating. She was around a lot now and Kagome really enjoyed it. She liked having a girl around to talk to. Minato absolutely hated it when Kushina and herself would team up against him. He never stood a chance. Surprisingly it hadn't been Minato who made the first step, it had been Kushina. Kagome and Minato had been on their way home from a training session when Kushina stepped in front of them. Kagome would always remember that day fondly.

"_Minato Namikaze," Kushina shouted in a mixture of nervousness and annoyment. _

_Minato immediately straightened his posture as a nervous look of his own crossed his face. He started sweating a bit as he thought about what she might want. Shit, had he done something to upset her? He didn't remember doing anything too annoying recently. They had actually been getting along so much better the past few months. _

_He cleared his throat before simply asking, "Yes?"_

_Kushina's arm shot forward as she grabbed a fistful of Minato's shirt as she pulled him forward slightly, "I am sick of waiting." She growled slightly. _

_Minato really wasn't sure what to do, "Waiting for what?" he asked as he desperately tried holding off a blush at their suddenly close-ness._

_Kushina let out a sharp breath of determination before stating, "You, Minato, are going to take me out on a proper date tomorrow. You'll pick me up at noon, and I expect flowers. Even your sister was nice enough to get me flowers."_

_Minato was struck speechless as the blush he had been trying to hold back flowed free. Kagome did her best to hide the laughter that was shaking her whole body. She didn't know what was funnier; the way Kushina 'asked' him out on a date or Minato's reaction. _

_Kushina suddenly leans in, closing the distance between him, and gave Minato a quick kiss on the cheek, "Don't you dare be late Namikaze." Then without another word she body-flickered away leaving the two siblings. _

_When Minato did absolutely nothing for a good thirty seconds Kagome grew worried, "Uh, Minato-Nii, you alright there?" when he didn't answer she made her way in front of him. His face was the reddest she had ever seen anyone; she could practically see the smoke rising from the top of his head. Then to Kagome's astonishment, he suddenly fainted. She let out a shriek of surprise and dashed forward to catch him before he hit the ground. She grunted under the weight of her brother. It was official, Kushina had broken her brother. _

_After she had dragged his dead weight back home and he finally woke back up, he had been a right terror. She had never seen her brother so flustered over anything before. Their first date had gone by quickly followed by the second and third. Soon after they became official boyfriend and girlfriend. Kagome honestly couldn't be happier. She was happy that her brother was happy. _

_Their first date had been pretty fun to watch take place, Kagome had mentioned it to her friends that it was happening and they were just as excited as she was. They had decided to follow them around make sure the date went well, her friends were around her brother so much that they wanted the two of them to start dating just as much as she did. From what they could tell it was going well. They were both blushing lightly, which Kagome found absolutely adorable. Kushina was even laughing at her brother's terrible sense of humor. A genuine smile found it's way onto Kagome's face as she watched the two of them. They might not see it yet, but they were so good for each other. Love was blossoming and it warmed her heart. Honestly, the two of them reminded her of Sango and Miroku. It was nice to see something so genuinely good in times of looming darkness. Kagome was looking forward to gaining an older sister in the near future. _

_Kagome let out an eep of surprise when she felt a hand settle on the top of her head. She heard Rin let out a shriek of surprise next to her as well. They both looked up to see Jiraiya standing right behind them giving them an amused look. That was why she hadn't sensed someone approaching behind them, Jiraiya and Shikaku were really the only ones that could still sneak up on her. It wasn't very often that someone was able to surprise her. She gave him a sheepish look. _

"_Why don't we give the lovebirds some privacy, yeah?" Jiraiya told them in amusement as he herded them away from the window._

"_Aw, but I wanna make sure Minato-Nii doesn't mess everything up," Kagome whined out playfully. _

_Rin let out a giggle, trying to hide it behind her hand. She absolutely loved the relationship Kagome had with her brother. She found it really cute. _

_Jiraiya shook his head fondly, "Leave the idiot alone, I'm sure he'll be fine Go on and enjoy your last day off. We got a mission to start bright and early tomorrow."_

"_Fine, you killjoy." She pouted at him before turning to her surroundings and spoke in a slightly louder tone, "Let's go you guys, our fun is done for the day."_

_Jiraiya's amusement level flew through the roof as five more heads popped out of practically nowhere. His student had the weirdest friends._

Now to the present Kagome was out with her friends for a lunch meet-up. With how chaotic the past six-months had been she didn't have much if any, free time to hang out with them. If she was home on a weekend, she tried to make time for a group lunch. Though there were times that her friends skipped out on the second half of school during the week to meet up with her. It warmed her heart that her friends were so loyal to her, even if it got them in trouble. The academy was well into its current school year and oh boy did Kagome hear so many stories. Apparently, that one kid that Guy had claimed as his rival, Obito had practically done the same.

The Kid was a prodigy, which wasn't surprising with him being the son of the White Fang. His dad probably trained him up just as Minato had done with her. The Hatake had gotten permission at the end of the last year to skip a few grades and he ended up in her old class with all of her friends. A fact that annoyed Obito to no end, and in turn, he never stopped complaining about the boy. Kagome herself couldn't really hold an opinion one way or another as she had never actually met the kid. She had seen him a few times, but she had never talked to him. She'd never had a reason to.

Now, usually, she could handle all of Obito's complaining with no problem. She even found it entertaining at times when he really flew off the handle, but not today. She was sore and tired as she had been put through an extremely rough training session with Jiraiya that morning. They were all at a park and had been for a few hours, all of which had been filled with Obito ranting about the Hatake boy. Honestly, she was getting annoyed at both boys and she hadn't even met one of them! She tried her best to block him out, but when his voice raised another octave and he got louder she finally snapped. He was driving her crazy! All she had wanted was a quiet day with her friends. Kagome narrowed her eyes at him, that's it no more Miss nice Kagome.

Kagome stood up and slammed her hands on the picnic table gaining everyone's attention, "Oh my god Obito, would you stop talking about your boyfriend for one minute? We've all heard more than enough."

Laughter burst out of her friends as Obito whipped towards her.

Obito flushed bright red, "Hatake is not my boyfriend." He denied instantly, "I'm not gay, anyway." His gaze shot quickly to Rin and away, but Kagome had seen it and a knowing smirk appeared on her face. Obito had a crush on Rin! She filed that away for future knowledge before continuing the conversation.

"Well, with how much you talk about him what else was I supposed to think? Seriously, he is like all you talk about lately and you're driving us all crazy. We get it, you don't like the kid. Drop the subject already." Kagome groaned out. She got a chorus of agreement from her friends to her amusement and Obito's embarrassment.

"Sorry," Obito mumbled out, embarrassment was clearly written all over his face.

"And with that end note, I really need to get going. My mom wants me home for dinner." Kurenai said as she stood up.

There was a chorus of agreement as they all gathered their things before breaking off in different directions. Kagome said goodbye to everyone as she grabbed her bag and heading to the house she was staying at for the night. She was spending the night at Shikaku's house because Minato was out on a mission. She had spent the previous night at Inoichi's but then he got called out on a mission as well. Her brother was scheduled to be back sometime the next afternoon so she had elected Shikaku as her next babysitter. Honestly, she still didn't understand why she was allowed to go out on extremely dangerous missions that could very well kill her, but she couldn't stay home by herself yet. Minato's logic just did not make sense to her at times. Whatever, she guessed she really didn't mind anymore. She got to spend some time with her old friends who she didn't get to see as much lately.

She had helped Shikaku with the deer herd at the crack of dawn before she headed out to training, which she had enjoyed a lot. It had been months since she had been able to help out with the deer and she found herself actually missing them. The head buck had stuck to her like glue the whole time which Shikaku had chuckled at. She had to finish that up quicker than she would have liked so she'd get to her training with Jiraiya on time.

She took her time walking back as she was enjoying the little moment of peace. She hadn't gotten many of these moments the past six months and she had taken to make sure she enjoyed them when she could. She was nearly back to the Nara district when she felt something cold touch the side of her arm. She startled slightly before looking down. To her surprise, she found a wolf who was probably in its teens trying to get her attention. It had a dark grey back with a white stomach. She immediately knew that it was an Inuzuka companion, but what bothered her was she didn't see any Inuzuka clan members around. Kagome frowned in concern as she looked around, what was the wolf doing by itself?

Kagome squatted down, which wasn't really necessary as the dog was now taller than her. She looked for a collar or nametag but didn't see anything, not that she was surprised. If this was an active nin-dog then they wouldn't have any identification. To her amusement the wolf licked her face in greeting, she let out a small giggle and started petting him.

"What are you doing out by yourself, hmm?" she asked him softly. She knew that most animals wouldn't be afraid to approach her as her aura would instantly calm them.

He let out a small whine and butted his head against her shoulder in response.

She let out a small sigh as she glanced at the Nara gate that was only a few steps away, well it looks like she'll be getting back a bit later than originally thought. She stood back up and ran her hand through the wolf's fur, "Alright then. Let's get you back to your district shall we boy?"

The wolf gave a happy bark as he rubbed himself against her.

Kagome found it a bit hard to walk as the wolf kept wanting to step just in front of her. She didn't mind it too much, the wolf seemed to be enjoying himself. She let out a small giggle when the wolf actually managed to trip her but immediately caught her before she hit the ground. That's when she realized that the wolf wanted to play with her and a full-blown laugh escaped her. While she might have spent a good amount of time Koga, Ginta, and Hakkaku she had never really spent much time around the actual wolves of his pack. She hadn't known just how playful wolves could be.

"Alright, you're on." Kagome grinned down at him. He gave a bark of excitement. Kagome giggled before jumping over him and taking off at a jog. The wolf immediately tried to catch up to her barking out happily. It turned into a mixture of a race and tag and civilians practically jumped out of their way. Before she knew it, she was in front of the Inuzuka clan gates.

Kagome crossed over just seconds before the wolf and she collapsed to the ground in complete giggles, "I win." She laughed out happily. Her new wolf friend gave a small playful whine. Before leaning down to lick her in the face happily.

"Excuse me, can we help you?" one of the male Inuzuka's asked her cautiously.

Kagome escaped from under the wolf before standing up, "Oh, sorry. Um, I found this wolf all alone on my way home. I recognized him as a nin-companion and figured I'd bring him back to you guys. I'm not sure who he belongs to, but I think he was lost." She said politely. She hasn't interacted with any Inuzuka so she wasn't really sure how strict or friendly they usually are.

It turned out that she didn't need to worry as the Inuzuka's wary look turned welcoming, "Ah, thanks, kid. That wolf belongs to Tsume, but I'm not sure what Kuromaru was doing out on his own. To get to Tsume's house follow this path here and take the third left. Her house is at the end of the road. She should be back from her meeting by now, but if she isn't just let Kuromaru back into her house. We usually keep our homes unlocked. If she isn't home let me know on your way back out, she'll want to thank you for bringing back her partner."

Kagome nodded an agreement before starting to follow the man's directions. She peacefully walked through the Inuzuka district looking around her new environment. She really liked this district; it was very homey and lively. There were kids laughing and running around happily and there were dogs absolutely everywhere. She imagined that this was what the Namikaze district would have been like if all of them hadn't died off. Well, minus all of the dogs probably.

When she got to the directed house, she knew somebody was home as there were lights on in the windows. Kagome knocked on the door and waited patiently. Moments later the door was whipped open and a tough-looking woman stood there, "Yeah?" she asked in a slightly irritated tone. She looked like she was around Inoichi's age, maybe a bit younger

"Um, are you Tsume Inuzuka?"

"Who wants to know?"

"I think I found your partner out near the markets just now." She said before stepping aside to show the wolf that had been trying his best to hide behind her.

"Kuromaru! Where in the hell did you wander off to? I was worried about you." Tsume barked out. She pointed into the house, "Get in there."

Kuromaru licked Kagome's arm in parting before quickly darting inside.

Tsume let out a sigh as she ran her hand through her hair, "Sorry if he caused you any trouble. He's never run off like this before. I've been having to go to a lot more clan meetings lately, so he's probably been feeling restless. Thanks for bringing him back home."

Kagome shook her head, "He was no problem, had a bit of fun on the way here actually. I think he just wanted someone to play with. Animals tend to like me. I really didn't mind bringing him back, honest."

Tsume looked the kid over with a critical eye. Kuromaru didn't really like anyone other than herself so the fact that her partner willing went up to this kid and played with her shook her a bit. She easily narrowed in on the headband tied around her throat. The kid must be something special to graduate at her age. There were only a few prodigies that graduate before the normal age of twelve. The kid was short, like really short. She could already see muscles forming which meant the kid took good care of herself. She had long black hair that she had tied back in a tight French braid so it would be out of her way. There was an unwritten rule about being a kunoichi. You didn't grow your hair out unless you were good enough that your opponent couldn't use it against you. Longer hair was easier to grab in a fight after all. The same went for shinobi as well, but most men didn't tend to grow their hair long enough for that to be a problem. From the way the kid held herself Tsume could tell the kid wasn't a lightweight. This kid took being a kunoichi seriously, unlike most kunoichi the past few years.

"What's your name kid?" Tsume asked after a brief silence.

Kagome's eyes widened, "I am so sorry, where are my manners? My name is Kagome Namikaze. I really should be going through; I was expected back a while ago. It was nice to meet you Inuzuka-san. Bye." Kagome walked away with a wave and smile. Shikaku was probably wondering where she was and heaven forbid, she makes him get off the couch to look for her.

Tsume watched her disappear down the road, a considering look on her face. So that was Minato's little sister, she had actually heard a lot about the kid. She'd never got a description of her though. It was nice to put a face to the name. The kid had graduated about eight months ago but was already doing Jonin level missions. She had gone on a few missions with Minato and he loved to gush about his little sister's achievements. She wondered what else the kid would achieve. As she entered back into her house, she remembered that this year's chunin exams were coming up, would Jiraiya enter her into them or no?


	18. Chapter 18

Kagome watched Kushina grumble out of the corner of her eye as she was cleaning up from the small supper she had thrown together for the older lady. Kushina had shown up rather late already in a pretty crappy mood. Food always seems to cheer the red-head up so she had offered a small meal, which had been readily agreed to. When Kushina let out a low angry mumble again Kagome couldn't take it anymore, "Alright, I give. What's wrong Kushina?"

Kushina startled slightly before a light blush started overtaking her face, she obviously didn't realize that she had been mumbling out loud, "It's nothing. Don't worry about me." She rambled out quickly, hoping the younger girl would simply drop it.

Kagome rolled her eyes and stopped the pretense of cleaning and gave Kushina her full attention, "Yeah, I totally believed that one. Seriously, what's wrong? I don't like seeing you this worried about something."

The red-head let out a long sigh when she recognized the look in Kagome's eyes. The kid wouldn't let this go until she figured out exactly what was wrong, "It's nothing for you to worry about Gome, it's adult stuff. My landlord informed me right before I came over that he sold the building and we all have to be out by the end of the week. Which means I only have three days to find a new place to live. Don't worry though, I'm sure I'll be able to find somewhere without too much trouble. It's just annoying that he didn't give us more warning. I didn't even know that he was planning on selling the place." She grumbled out crankily.

Kagome paused in what she was doing, biting her lip in thought. Minato wasn't home right now but would be back in about an hour or so. She knew for a fact that her brother would instantly offer what she herself wanted to. After a moment of consideration, she decided to just do it, "Why don't you move in with us?" Minato could thank her later.

It was Kushina's turn to freeze as she stared at the little girl she thought of as a little sister, "What?" she answered smartly.

Kagome shrugged in response, "I mean you're already over here a lot. Plus, you've been sleeping over half of the time since you end up staying so late. Minato loves you and I really like having you around. I don't see a reason for you not to move in." Kagome argued her case.

Kushina blushed prettily as she thought of it, "I don't know Gome, as much as it seems like you run the house, that would be up to Minato." She argued lamely back.

Kagome had to hold back another eye-roll, like Minato would say no to having Kushina around permanently, "Why don't you talk to Minato when he gets home then?" she offered lightly as she finished putting the leftovers away. She went over to the red-head and hugged her from behind, "Personally, I hope that you choose to move in. Anyway, I'm going to go meditate for a bit before I head to bed. Have a good night Kushina."

Kushina smiled as she patted the arms around her, "Alright, I'll make sure Minato stays quiet when he shows up. Sleep well." She replied. She knew that Kagome had started meditating about two months ago before going to sleep. Something about settling her mind to be able to sleep. All Kushina knew was that she would never have the patience to do it.

Kagome let go of her older sister and headed to her room. A smile appeared on her face as Suhi pulsed his greeting to her. He had been much more friendly to her lately, which she didn't mind at all. She gave a small pulse in return and sensed Suhi's amusement. Only this time she also sensed a nearly undetectable pulse of yokai from down the hall. One that could only be coming from the Kyuubi. She was just able to sense the curiosity in the pulse's intent. A small frown pulled at her lips as he considered doing something, she had been curious about doing for quite a while.

"_Well he's a curious little kit isn't he?" _Magatsuhi thought to her in amusement.

"_I'm sure he doesn't get much company. Kushina doesn't like him and it isn't like he has anyone else to talk to. Plus, as far as he knows he and his eight other siblings should be the only youkai in the world. The fact that he continuously senses your yokai must puzzle him to no end. Also, he is most likely older than you are, please don't antagonize him by calling him a kit." _Kagome answered in amusement.

She changed into pajamas and climbed onto her bed, making herself comfortable. She sat in deep thought for a while before coming to a final decision. She felt Minato arrive back home and heard the two lovebirds start talking. If she was able to get in undetected then maybe she could have a decent conversation with the Kyuubi without Kushina knowing about it.

"_Hey Suhi, you up for a change of scenery?" _She asked conversationally. Most of Magatsuhi's time was spent in the expansive darkness of the Shikon. When she meditated, she would sometimes bring him into her inner world, which consisted of the clearing around the well and the god tree. A small piece of the feudal era that she kept with her. He didn't get to come out into the real world very often as he preferred to keep his energy charged up in case of emergencies.

"_Ah, always Princess." _He answered eagerly.

"_Cool, tag along with my mediation then," _Kagome told him as she closed her eyes and started settling into her inner world. From there she would hone onto the Kyuubi's unique chakra signature and attempt to jump to his own mind space. It was a difficult technique, but one that she had perfected in the feudal era. Herself and Kikyo would jump to each other's inner world as practice and train within. It was sometimes easier to catch onto something in the spiritual sense than in the physical world.

Within a few minutes, she was in her inner world. Magatsuhi appeared right behind her and casually leaned on the top of her head. She huffed in annoyment; she really couldn't wait until she started growing some of her old height back. Her ninth birthday was coming up and she had barely grown three inches since she got here. It wasn't like she had been super tall when she was eighteen, coming in at an exactly whopping five foot tall. But that was still way better than the four feet that she was at now. She could at least reach things comfortably now, but her shortness was still annoying. She did wonder every once in a while, if she would once again stop at five feet or if she would be able to grow past that this time. Only time would tell.

"Comfy?" she asked with a small growl.

"Of course I am Princess. You're my favorite leaning post."

She shrugged him off, "Will you help me hone in on his yokai? I've really only practiced on someone else with Ki. Pretty much only with Kikyo before. I managed it once with Sesshomaru, but that was extremely more difficult and it took me a lot longer."

"No problem. Since he's the only other youkai in the near vicinity I've become very familiar with his yokai. It shouldn't take too long." Magatsuhi answered.

Kagome sat under the god tree and got into her meditation position in anticipation to go even deeper. She stretched her senses outwards and immediately latched onto Magatsuhi's yokai. It took nearly ten minutes before another type of yokai. Magatsuhi's was a deep purple, a color similar to the color of the Shikon when it came became corrupted. This yokai was a deep orange, nearly red. Kagome snatched onto it and mentally followed it back to its source. She felt Magatsuhi tag along and within a blink of an eye, she was in a very long dark hallway. At the end of the hallway, there were large thick bars with a large Fuinjutsu seal more complicated than she had ever seen before keeping it locked. She felt Magatsuhi put his hand on her shoulder, squeeze it in comfort, before letting go and letting her take the lead.

She took a deep calming breath before squaring her shoulders and walking calmly towards the bars. She cast a very light barrier around herself and Magatsuhi so Kushina wouldn't notice their unwelcome intrusion. As they got closer to the bars Kagome could start seeing a large silhouette and glowing eyes staring back at her. The two stopped mere feet from the edge of the bars and the three simply stared at each other for a little while.

"You're brave to come here." The Kyuubi grumbled out finally, giving them a large-toothed grin.

"I've been wanting to meet you for a while now. I am not sure how much you can see through Kushina so I'll introduce myself. My name is Kagome Namikaze and this is Magatsuhi, he's a dragon youkai. We are not originally from this world as I'm sure you've gathered by now."

"It has lessened from the first moment I've sensed you, but you still have a bit of the sage of six path's chakra within you. How? He has been dead for centuries."

Kagome tilted her head to the side in thought, "The best I can assume is that he gave me a boost with his own chakra when he saved me. I can't tell you for sure, however, because I don't really know myself. I didn't have a chakra system before I came here, he gave me one. Perhaps his chakra is guiding my own. Though I do have to say, it is not very polite of you to not introduce yourself after I have given you my name."

The Kyuubi gave her a considering look. This tiny scrap of a kid showed not a hint of fear towards him and willingly showed a youkai her back. The being behind her may not be one of his siblings, but he held immense power just as they did. In fact, the apparent dragon youkai seemed to hold at least as much power as himself, the strongest of his siblings. He laid his head down on his paws and said lowly, "I am sure you have heard people talking about me by now." He said coyly.

Kagome narrowed her eyes at him, "And I find it hard to believe that your name is Kyuubi." Kyuubi translated to nine-tails and she truly found it hard to believe that his parents simply named him and the rest of his siblings simply by how many tails they had. That was ridiculous. She gave him a hard look, "If you are worried about me telling others you have my word that your name will stay between the three of us."

"You don't fear me," Kyuubi said avoiding the answer.

Kagome let out a laugh, "Not at all. I do not judge people by what they are, only who they are. I came from a world where demons outnumbered humans by a considerable amount. Demons do not scare me." She smiled at him in a friendly way, "May I please have your name?"

Kyuubi considered deeply; this child had obviously met his father at one point, somehow, and his father had blessed this random kid. His father, the main human that he ever trusted, put his faith into this child. Perhaps he should take a chance and see, "Kurama." He answered simply.

Kagome sent him a bright smile, "Well, it is a pleasure to officially meet you Kurama."

All she got in reply was an unamused huff.

Kagome felt Magatsuhi lean down on her head and she rolled her eyes, "With the way that you talk about this Sage guy makes it seem like you knew him." He commented lightly.

Kurama gazed lazily at the two from behind his bars before giving them a cryptic answer, "He was the only human that I've ever trusted."

Kagome smiled sweetly at him, "Well I hope that someday you can add me to that list."

The fox simply gave a huff again but Magatsuhi laughed gaining the fox's attention, "Oh, she means it kit. She makes friends out of practically everyone, even pass enemies. Take me for example, at one time I was trying to kill her. Wanted to as well. Now I'm rather overprotective little miss shorty."

Now it was Kagome's turn to let out a huff as she finally pushed the dragon off of her, "I don't do anything special. I just try to be nice."

"Whatever you say, Princess." Magatsuhi replied with a toothy grin.

Kagome rolled her eyes at him before turning back to Kurama, "I'm sorry that we can't stay longer and talk, but I can sense Kushina falling asleep. It'll be easier for her to detect that something is wrong. I don't want her to know just yet that I know about you, or that I'm able to do this. I promise we'll come back to talk when we can. It was truly nice to meet you Kurama." She was purposefully not adding a suffix to his name as she wanted him to know that she wanted to be his friend. He might think it rude for now, but hopefully, in the future, he will appreciate it.

"Do what you want," Kurama grunted out before closing his eyes and dismissing them.

Kagome shared a look with Magatsuhi before she focused back on her own mind. Leaving was a lot easier than entering the foreign mindscape. She appeared back by the well and she sat down on it. Kurama obviously didn't trust her, but that was to be expected. For most of his life, he has been locked away inside of humans, betrayed by humans, and looked down upon by humans. So why in the world would he trust a human? She definitely had her work cut out for her. That didn't bother her though, she liked a challenge. Befriending Kurama has now become her newest goal.

The next morning when Kagome got up to start breakfast to her surprise Jiraiya was already up and waiting for her. She was slightly impressed that he knew enough about the kitchen to be able to make himself a cup of coffee. Oh, how she missed the sweet nectar that was coffee, but she couldn't start drinking it until she was older. Coffee wasn't healthy for kids. So, for now, she had to deal with tea that had light caffeine in it.

She sent him a look as she started making herself some tea before she started breakfast for everyone, "What's got you up so early?" she asked curiously.

"Got something for you," Jiraiya yawned out as he slid a piece of paper across the table towards her.

Curiosity got the better of her as she put down the skillet and picked up the piece of paper. Shock echoed through her as she read the large words at the top. Chunin Exams. She looked up sharply at her Sensei with wide eyes.

Jiraiya chuckled tiredly at the look on her face.

"You think I'm ready?" Kagome asked in wonder.

"Kiddo you've been ready for the chunin exams since after our first mission together. This just happens to be the first chunin exam since you've become a genin. You are more than ready kid, but the final decision is up to you." His student would probably the most prepared of all of the poor little genin there. She would dominate the competition and honestly, he couldn't wait to watch.

"Wouldn't I need a team to participate?" she asked warily.

"Naw, we are actually the only village that requires teams. Each village's chunin exams are different. This one is being held in the hidden cloud and as such teams are not required but they are accepted. So, if you do participate in these exams do remember that you might end up against teams. In fact, if any other genin teams from here participate then you might end up going against them." Jiraiya explained.

"Can I… can I think about it?" Kagome asked.

Jiraiya shrugged, "Sure, take your time. Though the sooner you decide the sooner we can arrange our schedules accordingly. We'd have to leave in a two weeks to make it there on time, so I don't mean to rush you but you will need to decide decently quick." He chugged the rest of his cup of coffee before standing up. He ruffled the kid's hair before heading out, he had some errands he had to run. While he knew that she was hesitant he knew that she would end up accepting. She still had some self-doubt issues that he wasn't fond of from before she showed up in Konoha. He didn't know who kept putting her down in the past, but he really wanted to have some words with them. With how amazing his kid was now, he couldn't even start to imagine how far along she could be without those issues in her way.

Kagome folded the paper up and put it in her pocket to think about later. She made a quick breakfast for herself and Minato, but after a moment's thought made enough for a third person. She planned on heading over to Shikaku's house to talk this over with him, and knowing Shikaku she would probably be waking him up. The least she could do was come baring food. Unlike her usual mornings she didn't wait for Minato, she now had way too much on her mind. She ate her breakfast as quickly as she could before writing a note to let Minato know where she would be going. She ducked back into her room for her things before leaving the house. She was still slinging Suhi onto her back as the front door closed behind her.

She felt Magatsuhi flood her with a sense of disappointment and she frowned in confusion.

"_What's your problem?" _she asked irritably.

"_If you think you're not ready for this test then you are much stupider than I originally thought you were." _Magatsuhi thought to her before cutting off the connection.

Kagome stopped in shock just before leaving her district. Was he seriously mad at her? For being unsure of herself? Really? Anger and frustration suddenly flowed through her. It wasn't like she could help not knowing if she was going to be good enough or not. This world was extremely dangerous and while she knew that killing wasn't smiled upon during the exams it was accepted. She didn't want to go into something that dangerous without knowing for sure that she would be able to hold her own. Sure, she was way beyond the normal genin in Konoha, but she had no idea just how talented the average genin is in other villages. She knew from first-hand experience that in some villages the children were pushed much harder than any child should be. Especially from the hidden mist. So why was he so mad at her for just being cautious?

Her mood took a real bad turn after that as she practically stomped her way to Shikaku's house. She had been really tempted to simply turn around and leave Suhi at home as that is the only way that he could talk to her mentally. That would be extremely stupid, however, as they had learned that having Suhi with her blocked Midoriko from affecting her mind. Not all of the way, but definitely enough to make a difference. Unfortainetly she had to keep the rude sword with her.

A few minutes later she made it to Shikaku's house and started knocking on the door. To make sure that he actually got up to answer it she just kept knocking. He would eventually get annoyed by the noise and answer the door to make it stop.

Five minutes later Shikaku finally opened the door. His hair was a mess and he was only wearing a pair of sleeping pants. He knew that the person on the other side of the door had to be either Inoichi or Kagome as they were the only two that were ever persistent enough to keep knocking that long. Since he knew it was going to be one of his two closest friends he didn't bother making himself presentable. If they needed him this badly this early they could deal with him as is. The moment he opened the door he knew something was up. Kagome stood there with a nearly pissed off expression on her face. While Kagome did have a very nasty temper there weren't many things that kept her mad. He did notice that she brought food along, which he was grateful for. Kagome was an amazing cook. He simply pushed the door open wider and stepped back far enough to give her enough space to squeeze past. She didn't hesitate to the invitation and stalked her way into his home.

Oh yeah, Kagome was in a great mood today. Shikaku let out a long sigh as he closed the door. Today was going to be a great day, he could tell, and he hadn't even been awake ten minutes. He locked the door so they wouldn't get unexpected visitors, he needed to make sure they weren't interrupted. He had a feeling that would be an absolutely terrible idea today. He headed towards his kitchen which is where he was sure that Kagome would be. He knew something extra special was up when he entered as Kagome had taken her sword off her back and planted him in a corner. He never really saw Kagome without her sword anymore so he knew something happened between the two of them. What did the dragon demon say to her to piss her off so badly?

"So, what's up?" Shikaku finally drawled out.

"I brought you breakfast." Kagome avoided the question.

Shikaku sat down at the table but didn't let her avoid the subject, "Thanks, but we came to an agreement to not do this avoiding shit did we not?" She needed one single person who was able to be slightly neutral. Who knew everything but wouldn't judge either way. They had made an agreement that Kagome would tell him nearly everything so she didn't get stuck inside her own mind. Shikaku had the same problem himself at times, a lot of Nara's did. With the deal, they had made she had just as much a right to call him on his own bullshit.

Kagome looked up and sighed, "You're right, sorry." She paused for a moment before saying unsure of herself, "Am I a coward?"

That simple question caught Shikaku off guard and he sent a small glare to the sword placed in the corner. What in the hell did the damned sword say to her?

He took a bite of food Kagome had placed in front of him before he looked Kagome straight in the eye so she would know that he was serious about this, "Kid, you are one of the bravest people I know. What is this all about?"

Kagome let out a small huff and pulled the chunin application from her pocket and slid it over to him, "Jiraiya-sensei surprised me with that this morning. I'm not sure whether to accept or not. Suhi called me stupid for thinking I'm not ready."

"What makes you think you aren't ready?" Shikaku asked carefully.

"It's not that I think I'm not ready, not really. I know I would probably do fine, maybe. I just don't know how I feel about competing with other kids. Plus, the timing isn't the best with the upcoming war and everything."

"This one would be the best to attend if I'm being honest. I think I can safely say we both know that the war is going to happen no matter how long we try and push it back. When the war does break out all chunin exams will be halted until everything blows over and who knows how long that will last. If you want to get promoted, these exams will be your last chance for a while."

Kagome shrugged lightly, "Couldn't I just stay a genin. I mean what is the real advantage is there to becoming a chunin? " she grumbled softly.

Shikaku smirked at the pouting child, "You could stay a genin I suppose. There are some ninja that never leave the genin rank. On the other hand, there are certain missions that genin cannot go on. Those are the ones that Jiraiya usually goes on solo." He told her casually. He knew that Jiraiya going out by himself truly bothered her. She would come to calm herself of her anxiety with the deer herd a lot while he was gone.

Kagome paused before laying her head down on the table in her folded arms. Her face scrunched up in consideration. She hated it when she had to stay behind for certain SS level missions. Her worry about her sensei, that she was slowly to actually see as a father figure, would nearly make her sick at times. If she became a chunin would she finally be able to go on those missions with him? That fact alone would make the risk completely worth it. She looked up at Shikaku as he finished off his breakfast. Huh, she had been thinking much longer than she thought.

When he glanced at her she nearly whispered out, "In your honest opinion do you think I'll be able to do it?" Most if not all of the other participants would be older than her. By quite a bit. The normal age for people to start participating in the chunin exams is thirteen to fifteen. She had just turned nine not too long ago.

"Of course." Shikaku answered without a moment of hesitation, "You push yourself to your limits and beyond much more than the normal genin. Not only from Konoha, but from other villages as well. You already know many chunin level jutsu, your Taijutsu is above average, and your skill with your sword will surprise a lot of them." Her sword was nearly three-quarters of the length of her. Many would simply assume the sword was for show or it would be too long for her to wield properly. Those that underestimate her will be in for a very nasty surprise.

She sent him a small smile and grabbed the application back from him, "Thanks." She tucked the paper back into her pocket, she'd sign it later. She couldn't limit herself, that would do nobody any good.

"No problem." Shikaku said with a shrug, "Thanks for the food. Delicious as normal." Honestly, if she ever decided the kunoichi life wasn't for her she would do well to open up a restaurant or something. Though if she retires she would probably go work at the hospital as she loves helping and healing people. He got up and started heading back to his back porch, "You up for a game of shogi?"

Kagome stood up and grinned at him, "Sure." She actually enjoyed shogi now, Miroku would be so proud of her. To her utter enjoyment, she had tried playing a few other people and found that she was able to beat them rather easily. Turns out when you start learning the game from an absolute genius and master of the game your play style is much more advance than normal.

The next week went by pretty quickly. Kushina did end up moving in with them, which Kagome was ecstatic about. She loved having another woman around permanently. She had ended up signing the application and handing it into Jiraiya who in turn turned it into the Hokage. Jiraiya, Minato, Shikaku, Inoichi, Choza, and even Kushina had teamed up to help her train for the exams. There were a few days her friends had simply gathered and watched her train. They all thought it was amazing to watch her try and keep up with five Jonin and one chunin. She had gotten really used to listening to Guy shouting out excitedly in encouragement in the background as she tried desperately to avoid being pounded into the ground by her older group of friends. Multitasking training at it's best. She had made up with Magatsuhi… mostly. He had been a bit more jerky since then, and he hadn't apologized for being extremely rude. So, mostly it had just been Kagome ignoring that the event had happened at all. The dreams Midoriko had been plaguing her with had become more intense the past few days, and honestly, in hindsight, this was something that she should have told someone. As Kagome fell asleep, the moment she felt Midoriko's energy flare nearly as much as when she opened the portal to send her to this world, she knew she was in trouble. She couldn't even stop herself from falling asleep as she was violently pulled into a dreamscape.

Kagome felt dread fill her as she flared her own Ki in an attempt to wake herself up, as she found she was able to do. It didn't work. She also knew something else was wrong as she was once again eighteen. She hadn't appeared as her old self in any of the previous dreams she had, so why in the world was she like this now? Kagome sat down on the lip of the well as she tried to figure out what was going on. If it wasn't for the fact she couldn't wake herself up she would simply assume she was in her inner mindscape.

She was startled out of her thoughts when two different voices started speaking at the same time.

"Where the hell am I?" a male voice said in confusion.

"You're alive." A woman's voice breathed out in evident relief.

Kagome stood up and spun around to see both Minato and Kikyo looking at her. Kagome's jaw dropped in shock, what in the world was going on? Just what was Midoriko's plan this time?


	19. Chapter 19

Magatsuhi knew that something was desperately wrong the moment he felt his jewel soul partner's energy flare dangerously high. He let out a swear as he took off looking for Midoriko. After ten minutes of not finding a single hint of the still insane Miko, he turned his attention to the outside of the jewel. He tapped into his sword to see if he could see what was going on. Thankfully he saw Kagome lying peacefully on her bed, there didn't seem to be anything particularly wrong with her. He didn't see nor sense Midoriko in the home either. So, where in the hell was Midoriko?

He decided to manifest himself and he walked over to the sleeping kid. Yeah, he had been a bit of a jerk the past week, but he was tired of the kid underestimating herself. The initial damage that damned Inuyasha did to her self esteem was really freaking hard to get her past. While the half-breed may have stopped shitting on her after about a year and a half the damage seemed to be already deeply buried. He had been hoping to be a bit of a wake-up force in the matter. It hadn't seemed to help and only strained their relationship. He had to remember that the kid wasn't a demon, her brain didn't work the same way demons did. Tough love wasn't the way to go with this kid.

He reached out shook her shoulder to try and wake her up. A frown pulled at his lips as she didn't even twitch. He shook her harder, again nothing. Worry started building within him as he remembered Midoriko's power flare. He flared his own Yokai in an attempt to shock her awake. To his horror, he had to jump back as a barrier of Midoriko's Ki bloomed up around the kid. What did Midoriko do to his kid?

He immediately knew that he needed help. As long as that barrier was hidden around the kid he couldn't do anything. He tried his best to avoid interacting with other humans in this world, but now he would have no choice. Not if he wanted to try and interrupt whatever Midoriko's plan was. He had only met the kid's new brother once and a half. The first time he had manifested he knew that the brother was closeby but he hadn't interacted with him then, and he had manifested during one training session to see how well he could handle the environment in this world. Looks like he would have to talk to him once again.

He walked out of the kid's room and headed towards the older human's room. Thankfully the red-headed female was out in a mission so he wouldn't have to deal with her. He honestly, didn't like her. Kurama he liked, his prison warden he did not. He already naturally didn't like humans, to begin with, Kagome was the cute little exception. The way these humans disrespected and practically tortured the demons in their world truly pissed him off.

He sensed something was off the moment he opened the door. Kagome's own Ki was practically wrapped around the man. Had she sensed something was wrong at the last minute and called out with her Ki? If that had happened and with Minato being the closest person her Ki would have simply latched onto him. Well, now what the hell was he supposed to do? Would he even have enough energy to be able to leave the compound and find other help? The closest ally that actually knew shit would be the spiky-haired smartass. Would he be able to get further than the compound gates without Kagome grounding him? He wasn't even sure if he was supposed to be able to be out now with her technically unconscious. He should be able to manifest no problem while she is asleep, but unconsciousness was different than simply being asleep. He wasn't going to think too hard about it, however. Don't question the things that are going for you was the general rule he worked with.

To better ground himself, he ducked back into Kagome's room and grabbed his sword. The weapon would hopefully give him enough time to get the ally and make him understand that something was very wrong. He had never met any of her other allies other than her teacher, so best case scenario he would actually listen to a complete stranger.

He took off at a sprint towards the Nara district. He could feel himself being drawn back towards the jewel by the time he got halfway to his goal. By the time he got to the door of the guy he needed it was actually painful to keep himself manifested. He was already flickering in and out visibility. He did NOT have long. He didn't even bother with knocking, he just blasted the door down. The human could replace it later.

The human clearly must have heard the destruction of his door as he suddenly appeared in the doorway he knew was his bedroom from the kid coming here so much. The shinobi was already activating his shadow jutsu and to his shock Magatsuhi actually got caught. He froze against his will, but he didn't really care. He was running out of time and he needed this human to listen to him. He saw the moment the human saw the sword in his hand as his eyes narrowed him suspicion and slight rage. Good, he would know that something was wrong with the kid.

"You need to listen cuz' I don't have long. Midoriko has done something to the kid and I can't wake her up. She accidentally pulled her brother along with the crazed Miko's plan so I couldn't go to him for help. Can't wake him up either. You need to do something to help her because I can't." Magatsuhi rushed out as he flickered out of sight once again before he pulled himself back together. The slight moment of fazing out, let him escape from the man's jutsu. Huh, that was interesting to know.

"Who are you?" Shikaku asked out cautiously. He knew way too much about Kagome's situation for him to be a complete enemy, but it was always best to be on the cautious side. He was surprised when the man flickered out of sight and escaped his jutsu, but he didn't reactivate it. He would give the man a chance. Especially since he was actively able to hold onto Kagome's sword without getting miasma burns.

"I'm sure the little princess told you about me, the name's Magatsuhi." His face scrunched up in pain as it felt he was getting torn apart, "I'm out of time, you have to help her." he held out the sword to the man, "Get this back to her would you. I needed it to stabilize myself long enough to get here."

Shikaku raised an eyebrow, "I am not touching that sword. I know what happens to people who touch that."

Magatsuhi rolled his eyes, "Just don't touch the hilt. The sheath is safe enough as long as Kagome trusts you and you definitely land in the trust zone." He didn't even give the man a choice as he tossed the sword at him before forcefully getting pulled back into the jewel. It would take him a while to be able to manifest again, so hopefully, the human believed him enough to look into it.

Shikaku looked down at the sword he had caught on reflex and simply marveled for a moment that he wasn't getting burned. So, the man wasn't lying about that it would seem. He needed to get in touch with Inoichi and the Hokage if the man was telling the truth. The Hokage would then track down Jiraiya and they could begin their plan that they had been working on. Jiraiya had believed that he completed the necessary seal to finally make Midoriko not a problem anymore. It was apparently very close to the seal used to seal the tailed-beasts into jinchuriki. They couldn't tell Kagome about it as there was always the risk that Midoriko was listening in on the conversation. Unfortainetly, they needed to wait until Midoriko showed herself once again as they had to place the seal onto the insane lady herself. He made two clones of himself, one to go grab Inoichi, and the other to inform the Hokage, before heading straight towards the Namikaze district.

Minato was beyond confused. He had been in the middle of a pretty nice dream when he was violently ripped out of it. For a moment he thought that somebody had woken him up, but that wouldn't explain the fact that he had no idea where he was. He quickly glanced around and saw two women, one standing not too far from him and the other sitting on the edge of an old well. Neither looked like they were suddenly going to attack him so he couldn't stop himself from asking…

"Where the hell am I?"

He heard the woman standing next to him say out, "You're alive." At about the same time.

The woman on the well stood up and spun towards them and Minato felt his breath catch in his throat. She looked very much like his little sister only grown up as she used to be.

The woman standing close to him suddenly rushed forward and pulled the older Kagome, who he wasn't 100% sure about actually being his little sister, into a tight desperate hug.

"We all thought you had died." The woman breathed out desperately.

'Kagome' returned the hug but made eye contact with him and it was then he knew he couldn't keep denying the woman was his little sister. Who now looked a year older than he was.

"How are you here?" Kagome asked them both.

"I honestly don't know where _here_ is," Minato answered.

Kikyo pulled back and seemed to look Kagome over for any injury, "I felt a pull originating from the small bit of your soul that I still hold and I willingly followed it. Where is here?"

Kagome motioned for Minato to come closer as she started trying to explain, "I had originally thought I was in my mindscape, but now I don't know about that. Right as I fell asleep I felt Midoriko's Ki flare and I'm unable to wake myself up. So, I don't know for sure where here is, but it does look a lot like the actual feudal era. My mindscape doesn't extend further than the god tree it usually just ends in shadows, but I can clearly see mountains that I normally can't."

Kikyo glanced at Minato with a look of distrust, "Who is he?"

Kagome glanced at them both and she realized they wouldn't know each other, "Oh, sorry. This is Minato Namikaze, he took me into his family and he's my brother now. Minato this is Kikyo, the person that I was reincarnated from." She turned her attention back onto Kikyo as she started explaining, "When I fell through the portal I was thrown into an entirely different world. It would have killed me but I was saved by someone Midoriko didn't see coming."

Kikyo frowned, "You talk like you have been there for a while."

A frown pulled at Kagome's own lips, "How long have I been gone?" she asked in a concerned tone.

"Nearly a week," Kikyo answered bluntly.

Kagome's jaw dropped and she quickly shared a look with Minato, "It's been nearly two years since I arrived. Right?" she asked Minato for a second opinion.

Minato nodded, "In three more months it'll have been two whole years."

Kagome sent him an odd look, "Why do you know that to such a specific degree?"

A light blush flushed across his face, "It's important to remember certain events. It's your anniversary to coming into my life."

"Awe, you big old softy." Kagome teased before turning more serious, "What are we going to do? How do we get out?"

Kikyo frowned in consideration, "I believe I have heard of something similar at one point. If I am correct it is something that Tsubaki did a few times in her career. We are stuck in a dreamscape with the only way to escape is to destroy a totem. Tsubaki would trap people in a dream where nobody could wake them up and in turn they died."

"We should find this totem then, what do you think it will be?" Minato asked seriously.

"I am unsure, nobody ever escaped from Tsubaki's curse to tell, and Tsubaki herself never told anybody what she used. Plus, Midoriko's totem could be something very different from Tsubaki's." Kikyo explained then she thought in consideration, "We will need extra help, or we will never find it in time. While we might not be able to escape, I might be able to pull more people in."

Kagome froze in shock, she clearly meant her feudal family. There was a chance she may be able to finally say goodbye for good? However, she didn't want to risk their safety for this, "There is no reason to risk their lives for this." She said with a bit of sadness in her voice.

Kikyo put her hands on Kagome's shoulders and gave her a hard look, "Do you honestly think that they would hesitate a single moment to help you?"

Kagome merely shook her head. Kikyo nodded before walking away a bit to sit down and start meditating.

"What is she doing?" Minato asked.

"She's going to search for our friend's minds and pull them in one by one," Kagome told him.

Minato lit up slightly, "I'll get to meet your old friends?" it was something he always wanted but knew that it was impossible due to being on separate worlds.

"It would seem so," Kagome said worriedly. She was extremely excited to see her friends again, most likely for the last time, but if something happened to them because of her she would never forgive herself.

Minato bumped shoulders with her, "We'll be fine."

Kagome let out a worried laugh, "You don't understand just how brutal the feudal era can be. The elemental nations can be plenty deadly, but the feudal era is an entirely different danger all together."

"It's odd you nearly being the same height as me." He commented lowly.

Kagome nearly glared at him, "Nearly the same height, are you kidding me? You are still almost a whole foot taller than me."

"Still odd," Minato stated.

"Don't worry, it's temporary. Even looking like this feels fake, like its simply a glamour."

They were interrupted by a shout of surprise as a body appeared out of nowhere. Kagome let out a gasp as tears filled her eyes as Inuyasha jumped to his feet already on guard. When he saw Kikyo he relaxed a little but Kikyo was still deep in her meditation.

Then he turned to see Kagome and his ears drooped on his head a bit, "Kags?"

Kagome choked on a sob as she practically sprinted to the dog-eared boy and smothered him in a tight hug. Inuyasha just as desperately returned the hug.

"I missed you so much." Kagome sobbed out as she clung tightly to the boy who would always be her best friend.

Inuyasha eyed the man he didn't recognize warily as he simply stayed quiet and let his best friend cry her heart out. The man held his hands up in the universal sign of meaning no harm. He kept his eyes on the man and held the girl crying into his shoulder tighter. For now, he would give the man the benefit of the doubt as Kagome had been standing next to him before ambushing himself. He would keep his guard up, however.

He noticed the moment that Miroku appeared in the field and he noticed the moment the monk realized just who was in his arms as his eyes went wide in shock, "Lady Kagome." Miroku breathed out in amazement as he caught sight of the girl he came to see as a little sister.

The moment Kagome heard Miroku she broke off from Inuyasha and launched herself at Miroku. She didn't even care if his wandering hand made its usual appearance. Miroku gently held his little sister and simply lent her the strength she clearly needed. He was rather confused as to what was going on, but he didn't particularly care. He got to see Kagome again. He could sense that this wasn't technically reality as the very air was completely drenched in magics.

It was Kagome who noticed Sango appear as she let go of Miroku to practically tackle the slayer with a tearfully shouted, "Sango!" Sango caught Kagome on pure reflex but it took her mind a moment to come to terms with what was happening. The moment she realized she was holding her soul sister in her arms she broke down sobbing alongside Kagome. They stood there holding each other up. She had thought she would never see the only real girl friend she had ever again.

Kikyo waited for a bit for Kagome to pull herself together a little before she pulled the last one into the dreamscape. This last one would be the most emotional for both sides.

Kagome had just let go of Sango and started wiping her tears off her cheeks when she sensed her little Shippo appear. She turned around and smiled at the small red-headed child, "Shippo, baby." She whispered out as she chocked back even more tears. She needed to be the strong one here.

Shippo's eyes immediately filled with tears as he took off towards Kagome in a full sprint, "MAMA!" Shippo wailed out as he launched himself into his mother's arms. He didn't remember his birth mom, she had died when he was just a baby. Kagome was the one that perfectly fits into the mother role in his life. He didn't care if she was human or a Miko, she was his mother. And he had thought he had lost his mother once again, but she was back.

Kagome shared a pain-filled look with Kikyo, who besides Minato was the only one of them to really understand that this reunion was very temporary. She would have to leave them once again after they found the totem that kept them locked within this dreamscape. She simply stood there holding her bawling child as everyone that was there crowded around her.

"What's going on Kags? Where have you been? How are you back? Who's the blond?" Inuyasha questioned her.

Now came the hard part, letting all of them know that she was no longer the Kagome that they all remember. Gods for them it has only been a few days, not even a full week. Would they even understand? Well, she wasn't one for lies and they deserved the truth. False hope would be infinitely crueler than simply telling them the truth.

Kagome took a deep breath as she adjusted Shippo into the crook of her arm, "We are all stuck in a dreamscape created by Midoriko with the specific purpose of having us remain here until our bodies die in the real world. Kikyo pulled the rest of you in to help." She took a couple of calming breaths as she shared a look with Minato, "I'm not back, not really. As much as it pains me I can't come back, not anymore."

"What?" Shippo shouted out tearfully.

Kagome planted a few kisses across his face trying her damnedness to plaster her love for him into him, "I'm sorry baby, I really am. As I explained to Kikyo earlier, Midoriko sent me into an entirely different world. What I didn't get a chance to explain to her was that the world should have killed me. There is a substance in the air there that is not compatible with our bodies called chakra. For me to be able to survive there a Sage that I luckily ran into had to change my… composition. To put it bluntly, he had to de-age me to be able to place proper chakra channels within my body."

"And now she's my adorable little sister." Minato teased.

Kagome playfully stuck her tongue out at him, "I've been in Minato's world for nearly two years already and I just turned nine again not too long ago." She took a deep breath and gave her feudal family a sad smile, "So, how about one last adventure together?"

"Keh, like I'd say no," Inuyasha grunted out, but Kagome could see the wetness in his eyes. He would never let the tears fall, but this made it official. He was going to lose his best friend after this.

"You don't even have to ask," Sango said determinedly.

"Honestly, Lady Kagome, after everything you've done for all of us it's the least we can do," Miroku said with a smile.

She felt Shippo hug her tighter, "I _really_ don't want you to go, but I'll help too."

"Of course," Kikyo said with a nod. They all felt her flare her powers and a small blip flashed back, "I believe we should head in that direction."

They traveled for a few minutes with everyone asking Kagome all about her new life. She answered everything truthfully and willingly. It was really nice to be able to talk like this again with people who wouldn't judge once they learned the whole truth. The only one back home right now that she would have some luck with would be Guy, and one can't exactly expect Guy to keep his mouth shut about anything. That was really something that he was going to have to learn, and soon. Or he would be absolute pants at many missions and he would stop getting jobs.

Kagome should have noticed, honestly, she should have. She should have put it together the moment that Miroku settled in behind herself and Sango who had moved to walk right next to her a bit before. Both Sango and Kagome froze as they felt their rears being fondled. Anger filled both of their eyes and as one they swung around and each got a good slap on his face as they screamed, "Hentai!"

Miroku fell down with a masochistic chuckle as he rubbed his cheeks, "I think your slap has gotten stronger Lady Kagome."

Minato's eyes narrowed in anger as he grabbed the front of Miroku's clothes and pulled him in close, "You keep your hands off my sister, you hear me?" he threatened him.

Kagome rolled her eyes as she pulled her brother off of her friend, "Relax Minato-Nii, we are beyond used to it by now. Miroku won't change his ways ever."

Miroku grinned at them sagely not even remotely bothered by Minato, "It's not me my good friend, my hand is cursed I tell you. It simply can't help itself when I catch sight of a lovely woman posterior."

Kagome chuckled at the excuse he had never given up on, "Honestly, Minato, it's fine. It's just Miroku." Minato finally let go of Miroku with a withering look before he suddenly turned pale as he stared at Kagome. Kagome started to get a bit worried, this wasn't normal behavior for her brother. She approached him and put a hand on his arm, "Are you alright?" she asked softly.

Minato stared at Kagome like he had a sudden revelation before he whispered out in shock, "I'm going to have to chase so many boys away."

It was obviously still loud enough for everyone to hear, however, as laughter ran through the group. Kagome turned bright red, "You will do no such thing. I can handle myself thank you."

Minato practically ignored her, "It's bad enough with that Uchiha boy."

Kagome looked at Minato incredulously, "Stop that. Obito does not have a crush on me, Obito likes Rin. And even if he did have a crush on me, there is nothing wrong with him being an Uchiha."

"But then you'd be under the thumb of Fugaku and that's the last thing I want," Minato whined out.

Kagome snorted, "Well then, I guess it's a good thing Obito doesn't have a crush on me."

Inuyasha seemed to have gotten stuck on a certain thing she said, however, as he let out a short laugh, "You can take care of yourself? Really Kags? How many times did I have to rescue you from being kidnapped?"

Kagome flushed as she spun to glare at Inuyasha, "How many of those times were instigated by something that you did? And I got better during that last year."

Shippo knowing better jumped off of Kagome's shoulder and latched onto Minato's. Minato gave the kid a questioning glance, he was a lot lighter than he had expected. Shippo shrugged, "Mama can be scary when she's angry." He explained before turning his attention back onto the fight that was about to break out.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "Didn't stop you from getting kidnapped though." He completely ignored his role in many of those abductions.

Minato watched in a type of fascination as Kagome and Inuyasha practically start screaming at each other. He had never seen his sister like this. She was usually the peacekeeper of whatever group she was with at the time. Sure, she had a wicked temper, but she was able to keep it under check most of the time. Usually, if she wanted to get her point across she would go calm and quiet and that was when you knew that she was at her most pissed. He had never seen her actually scream in anger at someone. She would yell at people, to scold them mostly or to get her point across, but never like this.

"Should… should we stop them?" he asked uncertainly after a few minutes.

Sango shook her head and gave him a look filled with humor, "No, let them get it out of their systems. They get like this all the time. Inuyasha just knows precisely which buttons to press to completely tick Kagome off. This will end as it always does." She ended with a twitch of her lips.

"How does it always end?" Minato asked as he glanced at the two who were right in each other's faces just screaming. How were these two such good friends if this happened so much like they were insinuating?

Shippo laughed gleefully, "Mama always wins, just watch."

Not even a minute later Kagome suddenly went quiet, in the type of rage that Minato was familiar with after Inuyasha said something particularly cruel. Shadows covered her eyes for a few seconds before she looked up at him with a bright smile, "Inuyasha~" Kagome called out in a very familiar tone.

Inuyasha's ears went flat to his head and he stopped yelling as well, "No, Kagome don't, I'm sorry."

Rage built up behind Kagome's eyes as she suddenly yelled out, "SIT BOY!"

Amusement filled Minato as the dog boy violently face planted into the ground. And he didn't use the word _into_ lightly, there was an actual crater around him.

"Ugh, you're such a jerk!" Kagome yelled out before practically stomping away.

Without even batting an eyelash Miroku, Sango, and Kikyo started following after her. This was a regular occurrence for them so it didn't even phase them anymore. Shippo pointed after them, "We can go with them. When Inu-Baka recovers he'll catch up."

In the end, Minato simply shrugged and jogged a bit to catch up to his sister. Yeah, he had to say, he was not a fan of the dog boy. He liked to dig into his sister just a bit too much for his liking. A little while later Inuyasha did indeed catch back up to them and he stayed suspiciously quiet. The small smirk of victory on Kagome's face made him smile, however.

To his surprise, Shippo didn't jump back to Kagome and stayed on Minato's shoulder. He found that he didn't actually mind though. He would have thought the extra weight on his shoulder would throw him off, but after a while, he barely even registered that the kid was still there. He saw out of the corner of his eye as the fox kid leaned forward a bit to talk to him.

"Is Kagome happy in your world?" the kid asked quietly.

Minato glanced at him before turning his gaze onto his sister, "I like to think so. She's got a pretty tight group of friends that she adores. She mothers them so much and they don't mind, most of them appreciate it if I'm being honest. She's doing her best to better herself, in fact, she's going to be participating in the chunin exams in about a month or so. She's been preparing hard for them the past week."

"What are the chunin exams?" Sango asked curiously which made Minato realize that he had started talking loud enough for everyone else to hear during the last bit. Kagome gave him a look that said he was free to explain whatever he wanted to.

"In our world, one of the career paths is becoming a ninja. There are different levels within that both become harder and pay better. Genin is the most bottom level, usually just for kids who have graduated from the academy. The next step is chunin, there is a group exam with all of the other villages that choose to participate. It's usually a three-teared test that eliminates people from each round. The next step is Jonin, which is the most common highest level to achieve. The Kage from each village are the ones that promote people to jonin. There is also one more step, which is Anbu. Anbu are hand-picked by the Kage's of the villages. Anbu can be chunin or jonin, but they are usually people with exceptional skills or a unique talent that puts them above the rest." Minato explained at an almost school teacher level.

Inuyasha let out a quiet scoff, "And Kagome's already going into that chunin thing?"

Minato frowned sharply at him, "I don't know what you think about my sister, but she is more than capable of taking care of herself. She's been doing borderline jonin level missions since her very first mission."

Inuyasha didn't look like he believed it but he smartly kept silent.

Shippo turned his attention to his mom, "What are you like in the other world?"

Kagome shrugged, "Pretty much just like I am now, just smaller. I have a lot more skills under my belt now as I train extremely hard nearly every day. I need to, to be able to keep up with Jiraiya-sensei. I mean he's on a whole different level. I would show you some stuff, but I don't think I'm able to when I'm like this." Like she had planned it a glow surrounded her entirely before flashing away. In her place, she was her once again nine-year-old body. She smiled slightly as she felt her extra strength and power return to her. Who would have thought she would ever miss her smaller self?

Shippo's eyes went wide and he jumped from Minato's shoulder to the ground in front of Kagome. She was now only about half a foot taller than he was, "Woah~" he cooed in amazement. He carefully looked her over and was slightly surprised by his findings. During the half a year that Sesshomaru's group traveled with their own the Western Lord trained with him one on one as a favor to Kagome. He now noticed a bunch of things he wouldn't normally. The first thing he noticed was how differently she held herself, Kagome practically oozed confidence. She held herself up straight and shoulders back. She had very defined muscles that he hadn't had before. She was wearing a very nice looking battle kimono that offered easy movement. While she wasn't exactly his Kagome anymore, she was still his mom. Even if they were nearly the same age now. It was more of the soul that counts than the physical body.

Minato smiled widely at the return of his little sister, it had been a bit too odd to see her at her older age, "Yay, my sister is back." He teased lightly.

Kagome rolled her eyes, "I'm still me no matter what I look like you dork." She teased right back.

"As much as I hate to interrupt, I believe we should keep going," Kikyo said calmly as she pointed in the direction they were heading.

"You're right, sorry." Kagome blushed slightly.

"Well, how are you going to keep up now? You could barely keep up when your legs were longer." Inuyasha said with a frown. He didn't like this new Kagome, he wanted the old Kagome back. His best friend, not this kid.

"I'll be able to keep up just fine, if not easier now that I have access to my chakra again. Don't worry about me." She smirked slightly, "In fact, if we went all out I'd say it would be you having a hard time keeping up. Especially against Minato-Nii."

Minato snorted in amusement as he ruffled his sister's hair before starting to lead the way in the correct direction. Kagome let out a shout of annoyment as she chased after him in fake anger.

Shippo laughed happily as he took off after Kagome. Maybe they could have some fun before she would have to leave. He had already come to the decision that even if it was impossible for Kagome to come home to them, then he would find a way to get to her. Getting there was obviously possible, the evidence was Kagome herself living there. Maybe if he talked it over with Kanna, she would be able to help him.

They traveled in good humor for the next thirty minutes before two shouts of surprise/fear caught their attention. Kagome looked up quickly to see what caused the noise only for her eyes to go wide as she saw two very familiar people falling to their doom, "Kirara, catch them!" Kagome shouted out worriedly. Kirara didn't question Kagome for a second as she launched herself off of Sango's shoulder and transformed before taking off to intercept the two falling humans. A type of frustration filled Kagome after her worry went away, Kirara would catch them so no more need to worry. How in the hell did Shikaku and Inoichi get into this trap as well? She knew for damned sure that she didn't accidentally pull them in as she had done with Minato. So how were they here?


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey everyone sorry for the long wait and shorter chapter, but this one was such a pain for me to write for some reason and I just wanted to finally get it out. The next one might be a bit shorter as well, but after that, I'll hopefully get my chapters back up to their normal length. I just really wanted to give Kagome a chance to say goodbye to her old life for good before giving all her energy into her new one. **

Kagome silently fumed as she watched Kirara safely lower her two idiots to the ground. They better have a plan or so help them she would kill them both when they get out of here. What in the world were they thinking? Well, obviously they weren't! Honestly, who willingly mind walks into the head of an unconscious child who has a crazed Miko after them? Its obviously a trap!

The moment Kirara landed and the boys started getting off was the moment Kagome started stomping over to them. Shikaku noticed her and conveniently distanced himself from the blond next to him by quickly taking a few steps back. Inoichi on the other hand was seemingly starstruck with Kirara and didn't notice Kagome until it was too late.

Kagome reeling her fist back and flowed chakra down her arm before punching Inoichi in the gut. Inoichi let out a grunt of pain as he collapsed onto the ground and he held his stomach. She heard bursts of surprised shouts from her friends who weren't used to her using her fists while Minato chuckled in good humor.

"Are you two completely stupid or something?" Kagome fumed angrily but was more driven by her worry for the two of them.

"Aww, Kagome, what do you mean?" Inoichi groaned out from his position on the ground. She really hadn't held back from that punch, if he hadn't noticed at the very last second and strengthen the area she was aiming at with chakra he probably would have gone flying. As usual, he was torn between being proud and being terrified. Because if she was this strong now, just how strong was she going to be when she was all grown up?

"Well, I know for a fact that neither of you were close enough for me to accidentally pull you in as I did with Minato. So, that means you, Yamanaka, willing mind walked into my head knowing something was wrong. Do you even have a plan or did you think you'd just be able to simply pull me out once you got in?" She semi-ranted at them.

Shikaku let out a long sigh as he placed a hand on her head to calm her down a bit, "Relax, Kid. I'm here too right? Which means actual thought got put into this mission."

"Hey." Inoichi pouted in annoyment at the blatant barb thrown his way.

"Can the crazy lady hear us?" Shikaku asked, ignoring his friend.

Kagome frowned in thought as she shot a glance at Kikyo, "I don't think so?"

Kikyo cast her Ki out searching for any foreign energy around, "I do not sense her anywhere near, but I can put up a barrier while you talk for extra security if you would like."

"That would be very helpful, thank you," Inoichi said politely.

An idea popped into Kagome's mind and she reached into one of the pouches strapped to her leg and hoped that all of her equipment was there. She gave a little shout of joy when she pulled out some of her fuinjutsu and sutra combo papers. She handed them over to Kikyo, "Here key yourself into these, I made them as a specialized silencing barrier. They have become necessary on missions lately."

Kikyo took the sutra papers, cut her finger, and placed her bloody finger on the Fuinjutsu seals to activate them. Seconds later she had them placed around the group. She sat down and activated her ability, instantly a barrier sprung into existence around them. Both Kikyo and Miroku were visibly surprised.

Kagome let out a small amused laugh at their surprise, "Yeah, you don't need to meditate to keep it active. The only thing it requires is access to your power. After feeling rather useless having to keep a barrier active during my first mission I started looking into ways to make a strong barrier without made these a couple of months ago. They still need a few tweaks, but they work decently well. I just want them to work a bit better."

Inoichi ruffled her hair with a chuckle and she tried slapping his hand away with a huff but he moved it away too quickly. He chuckled at her, "Jiraiya really has you studying up on funijutsu hard doesn't he?"

Kagome shrugged, "He keeps saying he wants me to take over as Konoha's master of Fuinjutsu when he retires. It definitely keeps me busy."

"Back to the matter at hand," Shikaku interrupted with a smirk, "We can talk about those other things when we are on the move."

Kagome nodded seriously, "You're right, sorry. What is the game plan outside of my head?"

"Right before Inoichi brought us in, Hokage-sama and Jiraiya had shown up to begin the plan we've put together. We have been ready for a bit now, but we couldn't let anything slip in case the crazy lady was listening in. Jiraiya and Hokage-sama are currently moving both yourself and Minato to one of the training grounds in case things get violent once we get you out. Less of a chance of the Namikaze district getting wrecked.

"Once they arrive, Jiraiya will start applying two of the three seals to get ready. One is on you, Kagome, right where the jewel came out of you. The second is on the jewel itself. The third needs to be put onto Midoriko herself, which is why we needed to wait until she made her next move, unfortunately." Shikaku started explaining.

Inoichi took over, "The seal on you is merely a holding place for the jewel. You will have the unsealing key for the seal, I promise, but Hokage-sama figured the jewel would be safer sealed back inside of you and out of the view and possible temptation." He did his best to settle Kagome's worries he knew she would have. He had a general idea about how she might react, he knew he wouldn't be too happy about the circumstances if he were in her shoes. He knew he was right when he saw the uneasy frown on Kagome's face as she rubbed the scar on her hip.

"You swear that I'll be told how to unseal it?"

"I swear on my life," Inoichi swore to her as seriously as he possibly could.

Kagome bit her lip as she fidgeted uncomfortably. She started talking slowly, "I understand what needs to be done. I don't like it, but I understand it." She was not at all a fan of the fact that the cursed jewel was going to be back inside her. However, she did understand that it was the smartest move to make.

Shikaku settled a hand on her head, silently lending his support, and she leaned into him slightly. Just as silently thanking him.

Miroku glanced at the two of them thoughtfully. He had noticed a lot of things about the one he thought of as a little sister in the past few hours they had been traveling. She was more sure of herself for one, something he was rather proud of her for. She didn't just take Inuyasha's vocal abuse, she fought back quicker. She was clearly much more capable of protecting herself than she had been.

She was absolutely adorable as a child and he had to hold himself back from attacking her with cuddles. The only reason that he held back was Kagome's new brother. He was wary of the blond. Sure; he was nice, amiable, and the way he interacted with Kagome clearly showed how much they cared about each other. But the look he had seen in Minato's eyes when he had warned him not to touch Kagome showed a very deadly and very dangerous man. Miroku knew not to underestimate the seemingly carefree man. The relationship between Kagome and Minato was deep and strong. They teased each other happily and built each other up. It was a very healthy sibling-ship.

What he couldn't figure out was what her relationship with the black-haired man was. The other blond was clearly just very close friends with Kagome, he could tell by the way they acted together and how quickly he was to assure her fears. The laid back one, however, and Kagome didn't even seem to have to talk to communicate. She was 100% at ease around the man. While Kagome was a generally trusting person she usually had to keep her guard up a bit. She needed to with how many people were after her and the jewel shards she protected. On principle alone, he didn't want to like these men as they were taking his little sister away from them for good. Logically he knew it wasn't their fault, it was Midoriko's. At least he knew she would be in good hands wherever they were. When they had to part for officially the last time. The guy with the long blond hair started talking and brought him back to reality.

"The seal we are putting on the jewel marks it as the prison. The seal that will be applied to Midoriko marks her as the prisoner. Once she enters the jewel after the seal is applied she will never be able to leave the jewel by herself ever again."

"So, that means this won't affect Magatsuhi then. Right? He'll still have free reign, even if the jewel is sealed inside me?"

"As long as the prisoner seal isn't applied to him as well, none of the seals should affect him," Shikaku reassured her as best as he could under the circumstances. This was the first time this seal was ever tried, however, so there were no certainties. He knew that she knew that too.

"Why the hell you worried about that damned Magatsuhi?" Inuyasha growled out angrily.

Kagome sighed as she turned to him, "Suhi has changed sides. He's a good friend now. He helps train me and when the situation calls for it he even comes out and helps fight."

"Are you stupid or something? You trust way too easily, he worked with Naraku. He tried to kill all of us." He barked out.

Kagome balled up her fists, why did he have to question every little thing that she said and did? She glared at him angrily, "I am NOT stupid. If you recall YOU tried to kill me when we first met. Shippo stole from us, Miroku kidnapped me, and Sango tried to kill us. I gave all you a second chance, and you forgave all of them. Get over yourself!"

Sango couldn't help the burst of laughter that escaped her. She walked over to Kagome and pulled her into a hug, which was returned after a moment. She had never seen Kagome stand up for herself so quickly before. This was amazing! Sure, the younger body she now had was a bit odd to get used to. other than that she was absolutely loving the person Kagome had become since they had gotten separated.

Inuyasha glared at the two hugging girls but wisely chose to stay silent. He was not happy with this new Kagome.

Kagome turned to Kikyo, "You can take the barrier down now. Now that I know my two boys weren't total idiots, we can keep going."

Kikyo nodded silently and began ripping the sutras apart.

Inoichi dramatically draped himself over Shikaku, "Why does she always say it like we belong to her?"

Shikaku let out a snort, "Because she can snap her fingers and we come running." He stated before pushing his friend off of him.

Inuyasha glared at them upset before grumbling, "Just like you to slow us down for stupid shit." Before taking off towards the direction they had been heading before they had been interrupted.

Shikaku narrowed his eyes at the back of the white-haired boy. Now he knew how Kagome had gotten that endlessly irritating self-doubt outlook she had. It was easy to say that he was definitely not a fan of the dog boy. He made sure to keep a close eye on him during the rest of this trip.

A few hours later and they were finally getting closer to the power source they were really hoping was the totem that they needed to break to get out.

Shippo approached Kagome with curiosity in his mind, "Hey Mama, I know that you guys are capable of a lot, but what exactly can you do now? What can ninja's do?"

Kagome chuckled, "We can do a whole bunch. There are generalized things that everyone does and learns, and then there are things that only a single person or a family line can do. Take Shikaku and Inoichi for example, they are both from old family lines in Konoha. The Nara clan work with shadows while the Yamanaka clan works with the mind. My brother is very quickly becoming known as the yellow flash because of the jutsu he recreated which basically allows him to teleport."

"So, what are things that you can all do?" Sango asked interested. She had noticed the more controlled movements of Kagome. She had tried to teach Kagome some basic self-defense in the past, but they always seemed to get interrupted or too busy. She knew that Kagome had always wanted to learn so she was happy that she had finally got to.

"Well, in the academy everyone is taught basic weaponry such as shuriken and kunai. We are also taught hand to hand combat and basic chakra control. It's once you graduate from the academy and get put with a jonin sensei do you learn more; more advanced combat, jutsu, and even sometimes specialized weapons such as swords or senbon needles. There are numerous jutsus available to learn, but learning the ones that are the same type as one's chakra releases are the easiest to learn. I myself have both earth and water chakra releases."

"Can you show us something?" Shippo asked with wide excited eyes.

They all slowed to a stop, looking at Kagome questioningly. Shikaku smirked slightly as he walked over to her, grabbed her wrist lightly, and started pulling her away slightly. This was a perfect opportunity to show that idiotic dog boy that Kagome wasn't a weak girl anymore. Not just some random civilian thrown into the middle of a very violent war. She had trained extremely hard with lots of dedication and determination. She deserved to be seen as a capable fighter, someone that can take care of herself.

"Shikaku?" Kagome asked as she allowed herself to be dragged along.

"Let's have a spar."

"Oooh, watching them two spar is fun." Minato grinned excitedly. While he enjoyed training with his sister he knew that she did her best fighting while sparring with Shikaku. The two simply made a very good duo. Shikaku didn't hold back, treating her as an equal, and Kagome had a good challenge trying to keep up with Shikaku's strategic mindset.

Inoichi chuckled in agreement. Kagome had come a great way since they first started sparring together. At first, it was simply Kagome desperately avoiding Shikaku's shadows, but now with how much she has sparred with him, she was starting to be able to predict his moves. Which was not an easy feat when dealing with a Nara.

"We don't have time for this," Inuyasha grumbled.

Kikyo placed her hand on his arm to settle him, "We have plenty of time Inuyasha. We are getting close to the totem as I can sense it much clearer now. All we have to do when we find it is break it and then we will all be freed. A few minutes will not change the outcome."

Kagome frowned slightly at Shikaku, "Do we really need to do this? I could just handlessly climb a tree or something to show them, and some target practice. That would take less time than a spar." She asked him quietly.

"Don't you want your friends to know that you can hold your own in a world completely separate from them? I think showing them exactly what you are now capable of will help ease their minds about your safety." Shikaku said as he finally let her go and walked a few more paces to get a gap between them.

Kagome nodded with a sigh as she easily fell into a ready position, letting Shikaku make the first move. She had learned the hard way that taking the first move against Shikaku was just giving him the win that much sooner. Most of his plans started with his opponent going first.

Everyone watched in both anticipation and amazement as the fight started. Both were moving much quicker than a normal human should, well humans from the feudal era. For the first few minutes, it was just hand to hand combat with some weaponry thrown now and again. The first jutsu they witnessed was the substitution jutsu and Inuyasha very nearly jumped into the fight.

Sango watched in a type of horror at the kunai Shikaku threw hit Kagome right in the chest. Her hand flew to her mouth as she yelled out Kagome's name. She turned a hard glare onto Inoichi when he just chuckled at their reactions, "What is so funny?" she growled out angrily.

"Kag's fine, that isn't Kagome." Inoichi tried to reassure them.

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha barked out as he was being restrained by Minato.

Inoichi just pointed to the 'Kagome' that was laying on the ground, "Look."

They turned back just in time to see 'Kagome' poof into smoke and turn into a log that was impaled by a kunai. The real Kagome was nowhere in sight.

"Wh-where is she?" Shippo asked in concern as he looked around. His heart was thundering in his chest. His mom was okay, right?

"Well, she has just recently gotten the headhunter jutsu down-pat so there is a very good chance she's underground somewhere waiting for a good chance to try and grab Shikaku," Minato explained quietly, not letting go of Inuyasha but also keeping his eyes on Shikaku.

"Underground? How is she underground, there are no holes anywhere?"

"That is the power that chakra gives us. She burrowed underground while closing the ground back above her. Shikaku is probably trying to get a bead on her chakra signature." Inoichi explained as he kneeled down next to Shippo. He pointed to the ground underneath Shikaku and whispered to the boy, "Look at the shadows underneath Shikaku. He's activated his family jutsu in anticipation to snag her when she surfaces."

Shippo's eyes widened in awe, "The shadows are moving!" He had never seen a human be able to manipulate his own shadow before. He knew there were certain demons able to manipulate shadows, but not humans. The world his mama found herself in sounded amazing.

In the next few seconds, Kagome burst up from the ground behind Shikaku, shuriken already leaving her hand. Shikaku had heard the ground crumbling and spun around to try and attach to Kagome's shadow. He had to divert his attention onto the three shurikens aimed for his face, however. The shuriken stopped in mid-air as he connected to their shadows, gaining control of them. They stopped mere inches from his face, and he smirked slightly, "Not holding back today, huh Kid."

"Nope." Kagome smiled back at him before quickly starting to form hand signs, "Water style, liquid bullet."

Shikaku's eyes widened slightly as he recognized the hand signs and quickly jumped backward.

Amazement filled Kagome's friend's minds as Kagome started spitting out water at a very high speed. Shikaku made the shadows jump up in front of him like a wall and they became solid, taking the hits from Kagome's jutsu.

An idea popped into Inoichi's mind and he smirked evilly, "Here watch how well she handles from going to one opponent to two." He told her friends before pulling out a kunai and throwing at her before jumping into the spar.

Kagome felt the projectile coming at her and stopped it from hitting her with one of her own kunai, redirecting Inoichi's toward the ground instead of herself. She quickly jumped into a backflip to avoid the punch coming from Inoichi. A dived summersault was soon followed to duck under the high-kick from Shikaku.

Kagome pouted childishly when she made it back onto her feet, "Hey, nobody said anything about this being a two on one."

"I don't believe any rules were stated at the beginning of the spar," Shikaku smirked at her.

"Think of it as practice for the chunin exams, who knows if a fight will be interrupted by a third party. Happens all of the time." Inoichi smiled as he pulled out a new kunai.

Kagome sighed and readied herself for now having to defend against two instead of one. She knew she wasn't going to win, she never did against these two. They were jonin, very skilled jonin.

Inoichi and Shikaku flawlessly started working together without even having to speak and Kagome desperately tried her best to avoid being taken out. She managed to last a few more minutes before the spar ended with Shikaku finally catching her with one of his shadows effectively stopping her in place while Inoichi held a kunai to her throat.

Kagome groaned in defeat, "I give."

Shikaku deactivated his jutsu, releasing Kagome, and Inoichi put his kunai away and patted her head, "That was a great job Kagome, I can't wait to hear how you completely dominate the chunin exams."

Shippo bound forward and glomped Kagome in an excited hug, "That was amazing! I've never seen a human be able to do so many cool things." He babbled excitedly.

Kagome laughed happily hugging Shippo back, "It takes an incredible amount of training and study, but the end results are totally worth it. I can't tell you how many nights I simply collapse in bed full of bruises. Every new move, skill, and jutsu is worth every struggle and pain through. It's fun."

"You got a cut on your arm," Minato told her as the rest of them approached.

Kagome looked down and saw the blood running down her arm, "Oh yeah. Almost forgot Inoichi got in a hit."

"Well, you certainly got me back for that," Inoichi frowned in good humor as he held his stomach lightly. A chakra infused kick had hit him hard not long after he had sliced her arm.

Kagome rolled her eyes and held a glowing pink hand over her cut, seconds later it started healing over. It didn't even take half a minute to heal the cut, and she wiped the blood off her arm as much as she could. She moved to Inoichi and started healing his stomach a bit, getting rid of the deep bruise she knew would form from her kick.

Kikyo stared at Kagome with wide eyes, she had never seen any Miko be able to heal that quickly before. Healing took time and a good amount of energy to complete. She knew that Kagome had a more natural affinity for it, but she had never healed that quickly in the past. With how quickly she had been able to heal that cut showed just how much practice and dedication she had put into it since they had parted. Slight worry started filling her about the world Kagome had found herself in. To be able to practice healing that much there had to be actual wounds to heal. Self-healing was even harder than healing others as well. She had figured the world was a bit dangerous from the descriptions she had gotten during their travels the past few hours. But, just how dangerous was their world? With humans being able to do things just as powerful as demons, if not more powerful, how wild was that world? Sure, demons could be insanely cruel, but humans could be the real monsters sometimes. Take Naraku for example, the worst of the worst.

They talked for a bit while Kagome healed the two that she had been fighting before they moved out once again. It took another hour before they made it to the entrance of a cave, the energy source they had been heading for pulsed powerfully from inside.

"Think it's boobytrapped?" Kagome asked dryly. It had been way too easy to get here. They hadn't run into a single demon, which was not what she had been expecting. She had expected there to be hoards of demons between them and their prize. So, the fact they hadn't run into a single one honestly worried her a bit.

"Maybe she didn't expect you to be able to find it?" Miroku answered hopefully.

"Well I mean I can sense it just as strongly as Kikyo can, so it wouldn't had been too hard to find even if I had been here by myself." She frowned thoughtfully before getting an idea, "I guess there is only one way to find out." She formed the correct hand sign, "Shadow clone jutsu."

A second Kagome popped into existence beside her and her friends looked at her in astonishment. She just smiled at them knowing exactly what they were thinking. She had the same thoughts when she had first arrived in Konoha.

The fake Kagome walked into the cave without a second of hesitation and the rest of them followed slowly at a distance just in case anything took a couple of seconds to activate. In the end, there was nothing. This was entirely too easy.

When they saw what the totem object was they all blanched slightly. Sitting on top of a pedestal sat one half of the Shikon jewel.

"Really? That is what she chose as the totem?" Kagome asked angrily. Midoriko's whole fit was about her breaking the jewel in the first place. Why would she want her to break it again, even if it wasn't the real jewel? And why was it only half of the jewel?

"Why is it just half?" Kikyo asked mimicking Kagome's thoughts.

"Is it a two-part totem? Will we have to find the second half somewhere else?" Miroku pondered.

"I have never heard of Tsubaki using a two-part totem, but all of the people Tsubaki cursed were simply normal civilians that had gained her ire. I'll be honest, I'm not sure." Kikyo answered.

"Well, I'm not breaking it. I broke this stupid thing once and we all know how much trouble followed." Kagome spoke up in a firm tone. That was final, she would not be the one smashing it.

"I'll do it." Minato told her, "It'll help get rid of some frustration."

"Before you do, I think we should say our goodbyes. Just in case this is all there is and we all wake up back where we came from." Kikyo told them quietly.

The room sobered instantly as the realization hit them. This was goodbye. For good. They would never see Kagome again after this. They all suddenly wished that the hike here had been a little bit longer.

Shippo immediately latched himself onto Kagome, "I'm going to miss you so much, Mama." He wailed as he clung to her, "I don't want you to go."

"I know Shippo, but I can't stay. I'm sorry. I want you to promise me to be good for everyone, alright? Can you promise me that?"

"I promise Mama."

Kagome said tearful goodbyes to the rest of her friends. She saved Inuyasha for last.

Inuyasha's ears flattened onto his head and he tucked his hands into his sleeves, clear signs that he was very uncomfortable, "Do ya really gotta go?"

"You know I do. Before I leave though, do you want me to remove the rosary beads? I don't know if things done in here will transfer to the waking world, but there's a good chance it will."

"Naw, I've come to like them. Something to remember you by." Inuyasha mumbled out in embarrassment.

Kagome smiled at him before walking forward and hugging him tightly, "I'm going to miss you Yasha, don't think I won't. I want you to remember that you will always be my best friend, even if you got on my nerves all the time."

Inuyasha cleared his throat awkwardly as he held back tears, refusing to cry in front of other people, "Yeah, whatever you say. You got places to be, so get going."

Kagome turned back to Minato and nodded. She was ready.

Minato nodded back before forming the hand signs for his newest jutsu, "Rasengan." A ball of very high-pressure wind formed in his hand and he quickly brought it down on the jewel. It shattered instantly and the shards dissolved into nothingness as they drifted toward the ground. Seconds later the world around them started to waver out of existence.

Everyone from the feudal era woke up back home, safe, and sound. Shippo immediately started wailing and Sango scooped him into her lap. Just like that, they knew they had forever lost one of their pack.

The four ninjas, however, were not as lucky. The world around them turned black for a few seconds before a town snapped into existence around them. To Kagome, it was immediately familiar, to the others however their surroundings were very foreign and strange. Konoha was much closer to the feudal era than modern Tokyo after all.

**I have a very important question for everyone. Do you guys want me to bring Naraku into the story? This is something that I have been on the fence about whether to add or not, so I'm leaving the final decision up to the readers. Whichever way has the most votes is what I will end up doing and don't worry I do have ideas for whichever way it ends up going. Let me know if you'd guys like to see him come back or not, I do have an idea on how to bring him back but I wasn't sure if that would just be too cheesy or not to do. Let me know what you guys think! **


	21. Chapter 21

Kagome groaned in a type of aggravation as she looked around downtown Tokyo, "Oh, come on." She whined out slowly. Why were they even here? Why hadn't they woken back up in Konoha like they were supposed to?

"Where are we?" Minato asked in wonder as he looked around in awe at the glass buildings that reached for the sky, "I've never seen anything like this before."

Kagome was about to answer him when Inoichi in the middle of the road caught her attention, "Inoichi, car!" she shrieked in a panic as the pulled her friend out of the way of the oncoming car. Once she made sure her friend was safe she started explaining something that was common knowledge for her, "Black pavement is road, grey is pavement is sidewalk. Please stay on the sidewalk." She told them before falling into thought.

Being in this dreamscape was already very different from the feudal era as there were actually people here. The feudal era had been completely barren of life. As she waved her hand in front of a random passerby's face and they didn't even flinch she realized they were pretty much just NPC characters. They were still slightly interactable as evidence of their shoulders constantly being bumped into by them. She definitely didn't want to risk getting hit by a car. She didn't know how getting injured inside the dreamscape would correspond with their bodies in the real world.

"What are those?" Inoichi asked after Kagome finally let him go, watching the vehicles fly past them.

"As I said, they are cars. They're pretty much just transportation that gets people around at a quick pace. I remember conversations with my old friends about our possible future cars. That was before falling down the well, though. It seems silly to get so excited by something as simple as a car now. It just didn't seem important anymore with everything in the feudal era. I was fine with a sturdy bike that I was able to bring back to the feudal era."

"This is where you are originally from?" Shikaku inquired, "It is extremely different from both the feudal era and Konoha."

"Oh yeah, adjusting to the feudal era at first was a total culture shock. It took nearly half a year for me to get the hang of it."

"So where do you think we should be heading? You are the only one that knows anything around here. Do you sense what I'm assuming is going to be the other half of the jewel?" Minato asked still looking around at everything from his sister's old life. The environment, the people, everything was so different. How was she so comfortable in Konoha when this was the place she grew up?

"I don't think I'll have to guess, there is only one place Midoriko would want me to go," Kagome answered rather bitterly.

"Oh? And where is that?" Inoichi asked curiously.

"Home." She answered simply before starting to walk towards her home.

The three boys shared a look before starting to follow after her. A common question was on their minds. Why would Midoriko put Kagome in environments that allow her to see her loved ones? True, she was supposed to be all alone in the feudal era, but she was still in a familiar place. She would have eventually sensed the jewel and made her way to where they had gone. It wasn't like there had been enemies she would have had to fight. What was the insane Miko's plan here?

Confliction flowed through her they made their way back to her original home. On one hand, there was a chance she may get to see and say goodbye to her family. To say sorry for not coming back. On the other hand, there was a good chance they would be completely unresponsive just like all of the other people. Plus, she was still her current nine-year-old self. How would her family even react to her being younger than her younger brother? Her brother would be twelve if time passed as slowly for her feudal friends as it did for her family. If not, and time had split off from the feudal era once the well stopped working, as Inuyasha had told her it had, then he could possibly be fifteen already. She was hoping that it was the former. She didn't want her family not knowing what happened to her for two whole years. That just seemed exceedingly cruel.

They came to a stop at the bottom of her shrine's stairs. Minato let out a low whistle, "Wow, that is a lot of steps."

"You get used to it." Kagome shrugged as she made herself take that first step. It was a quiet walk up and the closer they got to the top the slower Kagome found herself walking.

Shikaku let out a sigh before simply plucking her off the ground. Kagome let out a small screech as her feet left the ground. The next thing she knew she was settled on Shikaku's shoulders.

"What are you doing? Let me down." Kagome shouted.

"Nope." He simply answered as he kept walking up the stairs, "You're hesitating and I'm not going to let you." He told her as he kept a good grip on her so she couldn't flip off of him.

She wrapped her arms around his head and laid her head on top of his as she pouted slightly. She knew that Shikaku wasn't let her go, so she might as well go along with it. The boys fell into a light conversation as they neared the top of the climb up. From what she was overhearing Inoichi was bickering with Minato about something, most likely just killing time. From her position on top of Shikaku's shoulder's, however, she was able to see the shrine pop into view that much sooner than everyone else. Kagome's breath caught in her throat as she caught sight of her family home, a place she never thought she would see again. She was home.

Sota knew there was something up the moment he came to on the shrine grounds. He might not have gotten such strong powers as his sister did, but he was able to sense some things. He had learned about a year ago that he was able to see spirits, not very well, but he was able to see them. He also had very basic abilities to purify. Kagome had been teaching him what she could when she had time. So the fact that the last thing he could remember was going to bed for the night and now he was in the middle of the shrine grounds holding a broom like he was in the middle of sweeping up, he knew that something was wrong. Either he somehow lost time or something spiritual was happening. He propped the broom he was holding against the side of the house before starting to walk towards the front. The fact that none of the normal spirits that hung around the shrine grounds were here bothered him more than he thought it would. What was going on?

Then he heard the voices coming up the shrine stairs. He peaked around the side of the house and silently watched as three guys and a kid on one of their shoulders. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion when his eyes landed on the little girl. She looked way too much like Kagome. The only reason he was so familiar with how his sister looked when she was little was that his mom had been feeling nostalgic the other day and they had flipped through old photo albums and videotapes. He watched them carefully, Kagome hadn't come back yet. The last time she had left through the well she had told them that they had Naraku cornered, that this would hopefully be the final battle with him. That had been nearly two months ago. The whole family was worried as she had never been gone this long before. The longest she had ever been gone in one stretch was a single month. Inuyasha hadn't come through either in that time to let them know anything as he did from time to time when Kagome got held up with something. What worried him the most though, was that he had always been able to sense a bit of something from well once his powers had really kicked in. About a week ago it was like it suddenly just got cut off, he didn't sense anything from it anymore. That was what had been really worrying him the most, the thought that his sister had gotten stuck back in the feudal era.

His suspicions about the kid that looked like a tiny doppelganger of his sister became more real as he listened to the group talk.

"So this is where you grew up?" Minato asked excitedly as he looked around practically hopping around in his excitement.

Kagome rolled her eyes, "Yes it is, chill out Minato-Nii."

Minato turned to beam at her teasingly, "You really were a shrine brat!"

Kagome chuckled at him, there were shrines around Konoha but none of them had any actual power to them. They operated about the same as shrines did here in Tokyo for the most part, so unfortunately the term shrine brat was in both worlds, "Yes I was a shrine brat, still technically am."

Inoichi reached up to ruffle her hair and she frantically tried to slap his hands away, "Back off Yamanaka." She growled before practically getting into a slap war she couldn't escape from because Shikaku still wasn't letting her go.

"Awe come on Kagome, let me ruffle your cute fluffy hair." Inoichi teased trying to keep her mind off any sadness.

"Keep your hands to yourself Inoichi. Shikaku, let me down! Minato-Nii help!" Kagome struggled from on top of his shoulders trying to avoid Inoichi's grabby hands.

Minato chuckled before using chakra to boost his jump over Shikaku and grabbed his sister. Shikaku simply let her go and she held onto Minato as he flipped to land nicely. He set her on the ground and she hid behind him to put a barrier between herself and Inoichi who seemed to suddenly be extra touchy-feely.

"Do you sense the totem?" Minato asked as amusement filled him as he watched his sister and one of his best friends interact.

"A little bit. It's definitely here, but pinning down exactly where might take a bit. She's hidden this one a lot better than the last one." Kagome explained.

"That's fine, do you think it's in the house?"

"Maybe, but I don't know if we should go inside." Kagome bit her lip uncertainty, "What if my family isn't as autonomous as everyone else is. I don't want to freak them out with three random guys coming into the house. There is no guarantee they are going to recognize me. I'm practically ten years younger than when they last saw me."

All four of them jumped slightly when a voice called out, "Kagome-Nee?"

A small amount of anger built up in Sota as he listened to the small group talk. He was now like 90% sure that the kid was his sister. Somehow. Which meant that something had happened and his sister probably wasn't coming home. She broke her promise!

He couldn't help the small amount of anger in his voice when he called out her name. The group instantly looked in his direction and he saw the recognition in the kid's eyes, "It is you isn't it?" he asked a bit bitterly.

"Sota." Kagome breathed out as tears pooled in her eyes, but didn't fall. She had already cried too much today she didn't need to cry even more.

"What is going on? Why do you look like that? Who are they?" Sota fired off questions.

Kagome took a settling breath to give herself strength, "I know that this probably is super strange, but yes it is me. We defeated Naraku and combined all of the jewel shards, but then something else happened. Probably long story short I got launched into a completely different world and in the process got de-aged. I've been over there for nearly two years already." She gestured to the three behind her, "The two older ones are Inoichi and Shikaku and they are two of my closest friends. This idiot blond here is Minato, my older brother. He adopted me in the new world I am in."

Hurt and rage burned inside of Sota. Not only was she breaking her promise about coming back, because he had a feeling that she wouldn't be staying, but she had also replaced him. Wasn't he as a brother good enough? Why did she need another one?

All of his built-up anger and frustration over the years about his sister's travels seemed to burst out at once as he practically screamed out, "You LIAR!"

Kagome's eyes darted to her younger brother in shock at his outburst, "What? Sota, what's wrong?"

Sota felt tears building up in his eyes, "You promised. You promised me and mom that you would come back home safe after you defeated Naraku. You lied! Do you have any idea how worried we've all been? Mom stays up late all of the time hoping that you'll pop out from the well and come home. And what have you been doing? Just starting over in another world and forgetting all about your family?"

Hurt anger built up in Kagome's chest, "You don't think I think about you guys all of the time? I've been in Konoha for nearly two years Sota, it's not like I could just stay stuck in the past. I had to keep moving forward for my own sanity. Of course, I'm going to make connections, you know how I am. I like people around me that I'm close with. I never have and I never will forget about you, Mama, and Gramps. I miss you guys all the time." She tried getting through to him. The last thing she wanted was to leave here on bad terms with her little brother.

"Did you even try getting back?" Sota shot out bitterly.

"Don't you think I would have come back home if I was able to?" Kagome practically screamed out, her voice cracking with the pure emotion that bled through. Her sudden outburst seemed to have knocked Sota out of his own anger. She barely noticed the tears of frustration rolling down her cheeks, "I felt the immense amount of energy Midoriko used to send me to the elemental nations. If anyone living tried that the best-case scenario would be them losing their powers forever, the worst case is that the attempt would kill them. So, I'm sorry that I didn't try to replicate what Midoriko had done. I did look into summoning and reverse summoning jutsu scrolls when I finally got access to them, but they only went as far as separate dimensions directly connected to the elemental nations. They wouldn't have helped me in the least. There is nothing else similar in my new world that would be able to get me back, so coming back just isn't an option for me Sota. Plus, I have a chakra network in my body now and if I did somehow miraculously find a way home I would slowly die from chakra exhaustion because my body wouldn't be able to replenish the chakra it now needs."

Minato laid a hand on his sister's head to try and help calm her down, she had been put through a lot of emotional stress today. She needed a break. He glanced over at the kid and he found himself conflicted. On one hand, he was a bit peeved with the kid for making his sister cry. On the other hand, he got where the kid was coming from. If Kagome ever mysteriously disappeared on him it would crush him. The poor kid was losing his sister permanently.

"Take it easy on her kid, she did the best that she could. I watched her go through all of the emotions of losing not just one family, but two. She was a mess for a long time; nightmares, throwing herself into her studies so she didn't have to think about anything else, keeping herself distant from everybody to not be attached to them. She finally started making friends when Guy came into her life and simply refused to leave her alone. The little kid might be annoying but he started helping her heal." Minato lectured the boy.

Sota stared at Minato and then Kagome with wide eyes, he could never imagine his sister doing stuff like that. His sister was always really social and made connections easily. She used to hang out with her three girlfriends all of the time before she got pulled down the well. After that, she would tell him a whole bunch of stories about what she did with Sango and Miroku in the feudal era. And while she was never terrible at school she never really threw herself into studying, at least not until she got pulled down the well and had to binge study to try and keep up with her school work. Even then it wasn't like she did it because she wanted to, but because she had to.

Before anyone else could say anything though a new voice caught their attention, "Sota, dear, what's going on? I heard yelling."

Kagome's head whipped to the side so quickly she was surprised she didn't give herself whiplash, "Mama." She whispered out before she could stop the words from coming out of her mouth.

"Kagome?" Kun-Loon breathed out as she caught glimpse of her baby girl once again a child. Of course, she would recognize her own child even if she wasn't as she had last seen her. She had raised her child as a stay at home mother, with her kids nearly every moment of their lives as they grew up.

Kun-Loon didn't waste a second as she rushed towards her baby girl, she had been so worried about her. Kagome broke off from Minato and sprinted to meet her mom in the middle. They both hugged each other so tightly it nearly hurt but neither of them cared. After a few minutes, Kun-Loon finally pulled back and cupped her daughter's face, "What happened to you?"

Kagome laughed through her tears, "It's a long story."

Kun-Loon smiled gently, "We have time." She looked back to the three boys she had never seen before and smiled at them in a welcoming manner, "Would you all like to come in for some tea while we speak?"

Inoichi beamed at her and approached the two ladies, "We would love some tea, Ma'am."

"Let's go inside and I'll make us some tea so we can all talk about what is going on," Kun-Loon said as she took hold of Kagome's hand, refusing to let go of her daughter quite yet. Call it mother's intuition, but she had a bad feeling that Kagome would not be staying here for long. She wanted as much time with her daughter as she could. While she would miss her daughter for the rest of her life, she was overly aware that her daughter had a fate that would take her away from home. She had always known that her daughter was special, ever since she was born. She had never told anybody but she had seen her baby glowing slightly in the hospital. Her husband had told her all about his family history and that the legends about the shrine were all true. The moment she saw her baby glowing she knew Kagome would never be a normal child. She had a feeling that this was just a step further than her travels into the feudal era.

Minato eagerly took in the photos upon the walls that showed Kagome growing up for the first time. A wide grin grew on his face and he turned to face his sister, "You were so cute when you were little."

Shikaku chuckled as he poked Kagome in the head, "She's still tiny."

Kagome smacked his hand away only to get smothered by Inoichi, "Jury is still out on the cuteness though."

Kagome growled and elbowed him in the stomach, "Would you two knock it off."

Kun-Loon smiled gently at the interaction as she carried a tea set into their living room, "You all seem very close." She observed gratefully.

Inoichi nodded while wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "You betcha. I was Kagome's first friend after she arrived in Konoha. I introduced her to Shikaku over there about a month after. We've been best friends ever since." He practically bragged.

"I guess I have you all to thank for looking after my little girl."

The three Shinobi all got struck into a shocked silence as they stared at Kagome's mother, "Uh…" was the general census.

Sota sent an incredulous look towards his mom, "Aren't you taking this a bit too well? Kagome's leaving again!"

Kun-Loon smiled sadly at her youngest and ran her fingers through his hair, "You'll understand when you're older dear. Sometimes things happen that are out of your control. There are times when it is easier to simply go along with it and find the good parts."

Sota crossed his arms unhappily but otherwise kept silent.

Kun-Loon tilted her head to look towards Minato who was still staring at the family photos with hearts in his eyes, "What is your relationship with my daughter then?" she knew that Inoichi and Shikaku were her daughter's close friends, but Minato had yet to explain how he knew her daughter.

Minato started a bit at being directly talked to, "Oh, um…" he spared a glance at Sota who was still glaring at him, "I was the one that found Kagome when she arrived in our world. She very nearly died, was bleeding out from a wound on her back. My sensei, who is also now Kagome's sensei as well, and I managed to get her back to Konoha just in time. I felt protective of her almost since the beginning. Once she was allowed to leave the hospital I welcomed her into my home. I eventually officially adopted her into my family as my little sister." He answered as sincerely as he could. He walked over to them and laid a hand on Kagome's head. He made direct eye contact with Kun-Loon and tried to emphasize his sincerity, "I am overly aware that Kagome is not my blood, but I love her as if she were. I do not take my role as her older sibling and guardian lightly."

Kagome rolled her eyes, "Yeah, sometimes he takes it a bit too seriously. I'm not even allowed to stay at home alone yet."

Minato pouted at her for ruining his serious moment, "You're not old enough."

"Minato-Nii I am mentally older than you, I swear nothing bad will happened with me staying home alone. I cook just as many meals as you do, I can hold my own against most of the shinobi within Konoha, and if all else fails Magatsuhi's got my back. Your overprotectiveness is not necessary."

Minato collapsed over the back of the couch and whined out, "My Imouto is so mean."

Kagome merely laughed in good humor and ruffled his hair to try and calm him down a bit. Her laughter turned into a frown of concern as Sota ran off upstairs most likely towards his room. She turned to look at her mom and they shared a concerned look.

"Hey mom, why don't you give my boys a tour of the grounds. I'll go talk to Sota. I don't want to leave on bad terms with him."

"That sounds good, sweetheart. If you three will come with me, I'll show you where Kagome grew up." Kun-Loon said as she got up off her chair.

The three Shinobi nodded in understanding and followed after her, letting Kagome have some private time with her little brother.

Kagome watched them leave before slowly getting up. She hadn't realized just how much Sota would be mad at her. She knew they had been pretty close, but she hadn't realized that he was so dependant on her. They used to bother each other and bicker so much, but that was what siblings did. They purposely got on each other's nerves but would always be there for each other in the end. She made her way up the stairs and old memories flowed through her. While at this point she would not leave her life in Konoha she did dearly miss her original family.

She made it to Sota's room only to find it empty. She was confused for a moment before she heard movement from her room. Opening her door let her see Sota sitting down on her bed. It looked like he was doing his best to hide his emotions. She hopped up on the bed and sat down next to him. When he didn't say anything she simply looked around her room. Her face furrowed in distaste.

"I never realized just how much pink was in this room." Kagome frowned as she looked around more, "My room at Minato's house is very earthy, lots of greens and dark browns. I have a bookcase literally overflowing with books and I have tons of plants though most of them are succulents because there are times both myself and Minato are gone for long periods because of missions. I don't want them to die so I've started to buy plants that can survive a while without water. I do have a good group of friends that come over to water my plants that do need a good supply of water when we are gone. Rin is usually the one that does that the most. She's a really good friend, with tons of patience because she has to deal with Obito all of the time.

"I really do have a good group of people in Konoha. Guy was my first friend. He's a goofball and extremely hyper 99% of the time but he means well and he tries to be really protective of me even though he doesn't have the skills to back that up yet. Asuma is the Hokage's youngest son and even though he gets a bit of bad attention for hanging out with me he doesn't care and keeps our friendship strong. Kurenai is such a badass even with how young she is, she's going to be such a fierce lady when she grows up. She doesn't let anybody tell her what is right or wrong, she makes her own decisions. Obito and Rin were their own duo before they joined our group, they are great friends as well."

"Why are you telling me this?" Sota interrupted.

Kagome did her best to hide her smirk, "Because as much as you are showing your anger at me, I know that you are concerned for my well being as well." When Sota fell silent again Kagome simply continued, "As much as I know it probably angers you, Minato is a great older brother. I'm never wanting for anything and as I said downstairs, he is very overprotective. While Minato doesn't have any other family, he's the last of his family name, we do kinda have a father figure. He's not a great father figure, but we both care about him greatly. I will probably never let him know I actually kind of consider him my father figure because either his ego would inflate beyond measure or he would freak out and our relationship would never be the same again. He is a terrible pervert and I act as his daughter all of the time to ruin his chances with the ladies. It is super fun now a' days actually, especially during missions."

"You keep mentioning missions. What kind of missions?"

"You would love it in Konoha, a lot of people have the ability to do amazing things. I am what is called a kunoichi, a female ninja. I won't tell you the specifics as they aren't for children. They are dangerous and sometimes not at all what I want to be doing. But in the end, I get to protect people and that is what I truly want to do. I am truly sorry that I have to leave you and Mama again, but I do think I am better off in Konoha than here. It's not that I meant to leave you, but I was losing contact with who I was here. The only thing that kept me coming back here was you guys."

"You were planning on staying in the feudal era? Weren't you?" Sota asked quietly.

"Yeah, I was," Kagome admitted just as quietly, "I was really hoping the well would continue letting me go back and forth, but I did plan on mostly staying in the feudal era. It's where I felt most myself and the most helpful."

"Were you staying because of Inuyasha?"

"No, I wasn't. It's possible that he influenced my decision in the beginning, but in the end, it was all my own decision. He has Kikyo and I came to terms with that a long time ago. It was never my intention to permanently leave you guys, I swear I didn't mean to."

Sota's eyes filled with tears and he flung himself at his sister, "I'm sorry." He bawled as he clung tightly to his sister, "I've been such a brat, just like you always say I am. I shouldn't have been so angry, at least not at you. It wasn't your fault."

Kagome hugged her brother back as tightly as she could, "You had a right to be angry. The circumstances are not fair, I know that just as much as you." She pulled back and gave him a watery smile, "After we break the other half of the jewel we will all wake up and we'll never get to see each other again. With me not being around it's going to be up to you to protect Mama and Gramps. Think you're up to the challenge?"

Sota smile back at her, "What do you think I've been doing while you were gone already?"

Kagome laughed, "I'm not sure if this will stay with you when you wake up, but…" she reached behind her neck and untied her headband, "This is the symbol of graduating into a shinobi. I want you to have it." She tied it around his neck and leaned back to smile at him, "This way you'll have a little piece of me, even if it doesn't transfer over to you when you wake up. You'll always have this memory and you'll always be an honorary shinobi of Konoha."

Sota touched the seemingly heavy sash tied around his neck, "Thanks Kagome-Nee."

Kagome laughed and ruffled his hair lovingly, "Anytime, you brat."

Sota got a sudden gleam in his eye, "Can I see some of the things you can do?"

Kagome hopped off her bed and grinned at him, "Of course you can." She grabbed hold of his wrist and dragged him down the stairs. It was a bit odd as he was taller than her but she was just ignoring that fact.

As they exited the house they found the group in front of the Goshinboku tree. The closer they got the clearer they could hear their mom talking about the history of the tree and how it was the start of their shrine hundreds of years ago. Kagome's gaze jumped straight to the gap in the tree where Inuyasha had been pinned 500 years ago. It had never closed over, letting it become a permanent memory.

Their mother caught their gaze, "Is everything settled now."

Sota grinned lightly, "Yeah, everything is fine." He turned to the new three, "I'm sorry for earlier, I let my emotions get the better of me."

The three shinobi all noticed the headband tied around Sota's neck. Inoichi grinned at him and elbowed Shikaku, "Hey, looks like Konoha just got it's newest shinobi."

"You are such a weirdo." Shikaku groaned out as he ran a hand through his hair, "How troublesome."

Sota looked rather confused, "What?"

"It's just something that he says sometimes, he gets bored easily just ignore him," Kagome said with a shake of her head. She pushed her brother back towards the back of the house, "Let's head to the pond, I can show you a cool water jutsu I've been getting down for the chunin exams."

"Oooohhh, you gonna show him the one Jiraiya's been kidnapping you away to learn," Minato asked with a grin. They had been keeping it extra secret so it couldn't accidentally get out. No matter how much he hated it the rumors about his little sister being a witch were still going around and many were uneasy around her. The fact that she appeared practically out of nowhere didn't help much. There were two other squads going along with Kagome to the chunin exams and both Jiraiya and Kagome were keeping her jutsu training under lock and key so the others going with her wouldn't get any stupid ideas. Along that line, however, even he didn't know what jutsu Jiraiya had been drilling into her.

Kagome shrugged in response, "It's not like anybody will find out about it in here. Nobody to spy on us inside my head other than Midoriko."

Minato threw up his hands, "Yes! I was hoping to learn before you came back from the chunin exams. The wait was killing me."

Kagome sent a smirk towards him, "Maybe I'll have Shikaku make you look the other direction while I show Sota."

Minato let out a whining tone, "Don't do that to me Gome." Minato glared at her when she had the audacity to wink at him.

Kagome let out a laugh and had to let go of Sota's arm and start running as Minato started chasing her. She dived into a somersault roll to avoid Minato's grab. Her recovery was flawless and she took off running towards the koi pond they had in the back. She figured she could show her brother chakra control by walking on top of the water before showing him the newest water jutsu and maybe an earth jutsu before they went to grab and destroy the rest of the fake jewel. As much as she wanted to stay and spend some more time with her family she knew she couldn't. They had been inside this dreamscape for hours and it was probably nearing morning in Konoha. And that is if time went at the same speed within her head and in the outside world.

Minato finally tackled her right at the edge of the pond, "Got you ya slippery little demon." He grumbled in good humor.

He picked her up by the back of her outfit and simply let her dangle in mid-air, "Meanie."

"I'm the mean one?" Minato asked incredulously.

Kagome merely stuck her tongue out at him as she waited for everyone else to catch up. There wasn't much else that she could do until Minato decided to put her down. She didn't have to wait long until the rest of them made their way to the pond.

When Kun-Loon saw her daughter dangling from Minato's grasp she lifted a hand in front of her mouth to hide her smile. She hasn't seen her daughter this lighthearted in a long time. She had been a carefree girl up until she had been pulled down the well. After that, it had hurt her heart to watch her daughter become a stressed and worried girl. Having to go through a war that she had no right having to go through. It had killed a small part of her having to watch her daughter go through such heartbreak because of Inuyasha and Kikyo. She had gotten slightly better after coming to terms with her feelings with Inuyasha, but to make up for the hole that was left in her heart she had thrown herself into her perceived duty in the feudal era. The past three years she could practically see the weight on her daughter's shoulders. That weight was mostly gone now, she could tell from the smile that was on her face.

"Oh my." She simply said.

"You can put me down now Minato-Nii," Kagome said lightly as she looked up at her brother.

"Okay," Minato answered with a smirk and promptly dropped her. She managed to catch herself just in time to avoid falling flat on her face.

"Jerk!" Kagome barked out.

Sota couldn't help the bark of laughter that escaped him. He looked away when the older blond smiled at him. While most of his anger was gone now, he still didn't really want to like the guy that was taking his sister away, "You gonna show me those cool tricks now?"

"Not tricks, skills. Hard-earned skills." Inoichi lightly admonished him, "Learning jutsus take time, hard work, and can sometimes be very dangerous. They aren't something that you take lightly."

"Sorry," Sota mumbled out.

"You didn't know," Shikaku told him as he slapped Inoichi on the back of his head, "Don't be a jackass." He sent a look at Inoichi.

Inoichi at least had the decency to look apologetic. Kagome rolled her eyes, honestly, all of her boys were so overprotective.

She turned to face Sota and smiled at him, "Alright. One of the first things that I learned was chakra control. Apparently, I had too much chakra for a kid my age and I needed to know how to control it nearly perfectly before Minato-Nii let me even begin learning jutsu's. All of that training, however, led me to be able to do amazing things I never thought were possible. Like this," Kagome explained to him before walking to the edge of the pond without stopping. She heard both Sota and her mom let out shouts of shock as she started walking upon the top of the water.

"How are you doing that?" Sota asked excitedly.

"Like I said, near-perfect chakra control. Because of how much the water fluctuates all of the time I have to subconsciously change the amount of chakra I am sending to the bottom of my feet. It was so difficult when I started it that I honestly thought it was impossible even though I saw Minato do it. I cannot tell you just how many times I plunged into a lake or river and got soaked."

Sota snorted in amusement, "Bet you loved that."

"Brat." Kagome smirked at him, "Heya Inoichi, get on over here. Need a sparring partner to demonstrate the jutsu." When she saw the uneasy look on his face she pouted at him, "Please."

"No maiming please," Inoichi asked as he approached Kagome who walked off of the pond.

"No promises." She grinned at him.

Inoichi got into a ready position as he had no idea what jutsu was coming his way except that it was water-based.

Kagome quickly made the three hand signs necessary for the jutsu and felt her chakra respond to her wishes. Within the next instant, she felt solid water form in her hand. A whip of water shot out towards Inoichi and she felt a surge of success as Inoichi's eyes widened in shock. He tried to avoid it but she willed the whip to follow after him. He was soon trapped by the watery whip and Kagome pulled hard to get him off his feet. He stumbled with a surprised yelp and managed to control his fall enough to land on his side instead of his front. Kagome stalked towards him and put one foot on top of his arm and placed her hands on her hips giving a victorious pose, "I have fallen the great beast." She called out jokingly.

Minato and Shikaku stared at her in surprise, "Water whip? Jiraiya taught you the water whip jutsu?" Minato shouted out incredulously, "That is a B-level jutsu." He rushed forward and wrapped her into a tight hug making her release the jutsu and freeing Inoichi, "I am so proud of you!" he exclaimed.

Kagome giggled and patted him on the back, "Thanks. It wasn't easy to get it down in such a tight time frame but shadow clones and intense training paid off."

"Impressive Kid," Shikaku told her with a nod. She grinned back at him in response. He was always the one that believed in her potential the most.

Sota practically had stars in his eyes, "That was amazing!"

The next half hour was spent with the others showing off some of their personal skills and talking about certain experiences in Konoha. It was nice and rather fun, but Kagome knew that it had to come to an end.

"Guys, it's time," Kagome called out sadly.

Shikaku nodded in agreement, "Unfortainetly we do need to get going. We've kept the Hokage waiting long enough."

"We still haven't found the second jewel half." Inoichi brought up the problem, however.

"Pretty sure I know where she put it. I've been feeling it for a while. I think Midoriko planned to cause me mental pain. I was supposed to be alone in the feudal era, which is something that always scared me. The feudal era was scary enough when I was surrounded by all of my friends. The thought of being alone was terrifying. Then I got brought here, where Sota was rather mad at me. The combination of my family being here and wanting to make things up with Sota if I could; would possibly make me want to stay here instead of breaking the jewel and waking up. The place with the most emotional punch would be…"

"The well house." Sota interrupted.

Kagome nodded, "The well house."


End file.
